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SOCCER

“Not Real Madrid nor anyone else can tell UEFA what to do”

When asked about criticism over Kylian Mbappé's new deal with PSG, Aleksander Ceferin reponded that no one dictates what UEFA should do.

Andy Hall
(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 4, 2019 UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin walks past a sign with the UEFA logo after attending a press conference following a meeting of the executive committee at the UEFA headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland. - UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on June 23, 2021 said the footballing body could not give in to "populist" requests from politicians, as he defended the decision not to allow Munich's Allianz Arena to be lit up in rainbow colours. "UEFA cannot be used as a tool by politicians," Ceferin told Germany's Die Welt newspaper after Munich's mayor had made the rainbow request in protest at Hungary's anti-LGBTQ law. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) PUBLICADA 25/06/21 NA MA21 2COL
FABRICE COFFRINIDiarioAS

After months of rumours concerning Kylian Mbappé's future and the likelihood of him joining Real Madrid as a free agent, the French striker ended up renewing terms with PSG - a decision which some felt was calculated. In Spain, LaLiga president Javier Tebas labelled the operation “an insult to football” and threatened to file an official complaint, citing the Ligue 1 club’s balance sheet and losses over the past couple of years.

In an interview with the BBC Sport, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin explained that European football’s governing body has “financial fair play rules which are quite strict” and added, “Whoever will respect our rules is welcome to play in our competitions; who will not respect the rules will not. Look, not Real Madrid or anyone else will tell UEFA what to do. They are outraged from one point of view and, as much as I know, their offer was similar to PSG’s”.

Qatar Sports Investment, a subsidiary company of a Qatari sovereign wealth fund (QIA), own PSG. Ceferin, UEFA’s president since 2016, said that he is tired of hearing complaints about state-funded clubs: “I’ve said that many times and I will say it again, tell me one argument why they shouldn’t be the owners of a club,” he explained. “If you say that clubs belong to the fans, don’t you think that the other English clubs have owners - they have owners from the United States, some from the Middle East, they have owners from England. So it’s exactly the same situation and I’m really tired of these accusations without any concrete grounds. I want to know who broke the rules and if you break the rules then you will be punished”.