Liverpool FC Forum

[kazza]

Saw this interesting article and felt it needs its own thread. I thought there was one already but did not find it.

http://www.thisisanfield.com/2014/09/liverpool-fc-breach-uefa-financial-fair-play-rules/

This may explain some of the decisions that the club has made.

[LFC1990]

Great read there and actually made me understand FFp a bit more.

[red till i die!!]

those rules are very complicated.
i would be shocked though if we fell foul of them and get punished.
those monitoring periods began when FSG more or less took over with FFP being an avenue they want to comply with and promote. they began slashing the wage bill, literally in half. we have also increased revenue's commercially and gained an extra £45 odd million through increased tv revenue's so if we do fail to meet the conditions in the next season or 2 then something is going wrong behind the scenes.

[Kash_Mountain]

You may also want to have a look at the following, it's one I keeps  tabs on, from time to time, and it's easy to understand.

http://swissramble.blogspot.co.uk/2012/ ... o-win.html

Btw, our Club has been breaching FFP rules. However, the fact we are in the CL this season means we have received a lot more money than we otherwise would have, and the sale of LS. This has helped us a little bit because  we've been able to dabble in the transfer market, but the fact we are in the CL means the club will come under even more scrutiny. This means further investigations and possible FFP sanctions down the line. 

If FFP sanctions do hit the club, it can mean any number of things including, any winnings from the CL could be withheld. I remember the talk from last season, can't remember which  radio station said it, but they mentioned that FFP had hit a number of Clubs and monies were withheld from the Clubs. Additionally, I'm sure (if I remember rightly) Mwanck City, PSG and Zenit St. Petersburg ( I think) were fined heavily, approx €30m, and further fines in excess of €30m which I think were suspended based on a spending cap for this season. I'm sure Mwanck City and PSG were also asked to reduce their respective CL squad as well? (might be wrong on that one).

Also, speaking to some mates about this, I think LFC have supplied details for the last 3 - 4 financial years, in respect of FFP, let's hope we do well enough not to have sanctions placed on us. We've bought in a lot of players over the summer, but whether or not the Club have crossed the lines set last season remains to be seen?

[kazza]

UEFA chief Michel Platini thinks Financial Fair Play rules that saw Manchester City fined £49million could be eased in June
Michel Platini expects Financial Fair Play regulations to be altered in June
Platini added that an executive committee meeting will decide any changes
The rules saw Manchester City hit with a big fine by UEFA last season

By Nick Harris for MailOnline



Europe's big spenders have been given the green light to carry on after UEFA president Michel Platini admitted the current financial strait jacket on clubs' finances has not worked.

Clubs like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have sustained heavy fines and had spending restrictions imposed under the current Financial Fair Play, which limit the size of financial losses.

But UEFA, after pressure from big clubs who have had their spending curtailed, including City, PSG and the two Milan giants from Italy's Serie A, are planning changes that allow them to spend them more freely.


Platini told French radio station RTL that the FFP rules could be changed as swiftly as next month


FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY 


Introduced in 2011 by UEFA, Financial Fair Play's aim is to prevent club's spending money outside their means at an unsustainable rate. Teams have to balance expenditure on wages and transfers with income from commercial avenues and success on the pitch.
.
Clubs with super-rich owners will be allowed to make greater losses as long as the investment to cover them is ring-fenced.

UEFA president Michel Platini said: 'The world is two-faced but we will say this openly: I think we'll ease things ... It will be the [UEFA] executive committee who will decide if it is to be eased or something like that, and the outcome will be known by the end of June.'


It was a year ago this week that City were hit with a £43m FFP fine for overspending, as well as having transfer limits imposed and Champions League squad restrictions, although two-thirds of the fine was suspended. That meant they were limited this season in buying players and had their wage bill capped.

But it now looks like the brakes will be off and if they want to make a £200m-plus bid for Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or any other superstar, new-look FFP will make it easier.

City's owner Sheik Mansour has a personal fortune estimated at around £17billion although he has theoretical access to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund of £493bn. PSG's owner Qatar Sports Investments have access to sovereign funds of £194bn.

Platini suggested key Italian involvement in the lobbying for change, saying: 'The Italians wanted [FFP] eased.'

A source familiar with private lobbying of UEFA by clubs who want to spend freely, told Sportsmail: 'UEFA know FFP has helped to reduce some costs in a beneficial way. But they can also see the point that the richest clubs are becoming locked into dominant positions and any club outside that group has a shrinking chance of ever competing. Allowing more investment could alleviate that.'


One factor forcing UEFA's hand is an ongoing legal threat by clubs wanting to have FFP watered down. Jean-Louis Dupont, the lawyer leading the legal action, said: 'We welcome the announcement of a change in the rules in line with the demands expressed by our clients in their various legal actions.'

Watering down the rules is sure to leave some clubs furious, not least Arsenal and Liverpool, owned respectively by Americans Stan Kroenke and John W Henry, both men who supported FFP and cost controls. Neither club would comment.

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantion said: 'Any potential changes to the existing regulations will look to encourage more growth, more competition and market stimulation while strengthening the emphasis on controlling spending and safeguarding financial stability as our objective is and remains to ensure the sustainability of European club football.'

[kazza]

Liverpool FC owners set to be disappointed as UEFA plans to relax Financial Fair Play rules


     


17:59, 18 May 2015 
By Andy Kelly
 

John Henry and FSG have seen principles of FFP as key to success at Anfield


The financial fair play rules that saw Manchester City handed a huge fine by UEFA last season are set to be relaxed – in a move that will be a major disappointment to Liverpool FC’s owners.

John Henry and Fenway Sports Group have made no secret of their support for FFP which they believed offered a better chance of their live-within-your-means approach to ownership flourishing compared to those clubs underpinned by wealthy individuals like Chelsea and Manchester City.

Just last year Liverpool’s principal owner Henry said the “biggest challenge for us has been the ignoring of Financial Fair Play”.

“It makes it very difficult to compete, but by the same token there are many clubs who can’t compete at Liverpool’s level. So I guess I shouldn’t complain that vociferously.

“It’s challenging, it makes it difficult. There are only four Champions League spots, we have three teams that seem to have unlimited budgets, at least two so it’s challenging,” he told the BBC.

In February this year Liverpool were cleared of any breach of FFP after the club made a loss of £49.8million for the 2012/13 season, and £40.5m for the 10-month period before that.

The Anfield hierarchy were able to write off a big chunk of losses as allowable stadium expenditure, with £35m coming from former co-owner Tom Hicks’ scrapped plan to build a new stadium on Stanley Park.

Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre reiterated that the club “have always been supportive of the principles of FFP.”

But UEFA is expected to announce next month that the FFP rules will be eased to allow more owner investment – a move that will aim to nullify more than 10 legal challenges the European governing body is now facing.

It will also hand a huge boost to City in terms of challenging for honours next season if restrictions on spending on transfers are watered down. It will mean owners of clubs who do make a loss will be able to cover those losses with injection of equity – but not loans.

Some clubs, including City, have argued that the FFP rules favour established clubs because they effectively prevent wealthy owners taking over a club and pumping in huge sums of money over a short period.

That scenario happened with City and Paris St Germain and both were handed £49m fines and transfer restrictions last season, and the European Clubs’ Association has been putting pressure on UEFA for a change.

UEFA president Michel Platini has revealed some of the rules will be “eased” – and the lawyer leading one of the legal challenges against the FFP system has welcomed the move.

Platini told French radio station RTL: “The world is two-faced but we will say this openly: I think we’ll ease things, but it will be the executive committee who will decide if it is to be eased and the outcome will be known by the end of June.

“I think the regulations have been very good and it is the clubs who voted for FFP.

“But the French press say it is not right that [Chelsea owner Roman] Abramovich can buy many players and in France they can not buy them. But if the Qataris had bought AC Milan the French would also say we should make financial fair play even tougher.”


Jean-Louis Dupont, the lawyer leading the legal action against UEFA, said in a statement: “We welcome the announcement of a change in the rules in line with the demands expressed by our clients in their various legal actions.

“When the exact content and scope of these changes are known, we will consider with our clients how this development, which on first sight appears favourable, is likely to meet their legitimate expectations and influence the conduct of ongoing actions.”

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak last year claimed that history would prove that his model of heavy investment in the club at all levels is the right one.

Khaldoon said in May: “We have zero debt. We don’t pay a penny to service any debt. For me, that is a sustainable model. However, our friends at UEFA seem to believe otherwise.

“They have their view, we have ours. I disagree with their views, but we are pragmatic and one thing our fans need to know, we will do, as always, what is best for this club and the fans.”

[red till i die!!]

LOL    It was only a matter of time and if anything proves the auld adage that money does indeed talk 
Hopefully the silver lining will be that they sell up 

[Penguins]

LOL    It was only a matter of time and if anything proves the auld adage that money does indeed talk 
Hopefully the silver lining will be that they sell up 

Agree 100%
They can take their U 21 project and do one!

[Reg]

Paris Saint Germain's extraordinary £5.3m wage spend revealed - with relaxed FFP rules yet to come

The Qatar-owned French side were the best paid team in global sport at the start of the season, according to GSSS survey
IAN HERBERT  Author Biography  CHIEF SPORTS WRITER  Thursday 21 May 2015

An indication of the level of spending which a relaxation of Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules may bring has been laid bare in a study which reveals Paris Saint Germain pay their first team players an average of £5.3m, or £101,898 a week, whilst operating within the governing body’s restrictions.

The Qatar-owned French side were the best paid team in global sport at the start of the season, according to the Sporting Intelligence Global Sports Salaries Survey (GSSS), soaring above both Manchester City, who have been knocked off top spot - and Real Madrid. The stratospheric spending saw Uefa judge PSG to have violated FFP rules to the same degree as Manchester City, hitting them both with fines, reduced squad sizes and orders to not to exceed their 2013/14 wage bill. They will be less fettered if, as expected, Uefa relaxes FFP regime, allowing clubs to exceed the imposed limits if they can demonstrate where the extra transfer market spending is coming from.

City are thought to have been a bigger mover than PSG in securing the more relaxed regime. But a loosening of the rules will allow PSG to continue spending which is extraordinary, considering the relatively poor TV deal for France’s Le Ligue and a commercial operation and global fan base which is so much smaller than that of the Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United. The wages, taken with the £300m in transfer fees to assemble the squad, are financed by sponsorship deals such as the £167m contract with the Qatar Tourism Authority which was deemed by Uefa’s independent investigation panel to have had an unfair value. The French club have recently said that Juventus’ Paul Pogba is too expensive for them.

PSG have recently said that Juventus' French midfielder Paul Pogba is too expensive for them PSG have recently said that Juventus' French midfielder Paul Pogba is too expensive for them 

City have fallen from the Number 1 spot to Number 3, just behind Real Madrid. The average City wage is still over £5m per man per year. The club said when FFP was being implemented that the “accelerated spending” phase of Abu Dhabi ownership is complete, though the more liberal regime will also reveal whether they really intend to decelerate.  Manchester United’s spending on wages has risen to just short of $4.7m a year, taking them from eighth to sixth in the table.

Liverpool’s wage bill is also rising, the GSSS reveals – and now stand at an average of £3.5m per year. That takes them from 20 to 14 in the table and makes them the second highest risers in the top 15, behind PSG. Yet despite that outlay, Brendan Rodgers’ squad is still only the fifth best paid in the Premier League. That fact only goes to show how aggrieved owners Fenway Sports Group will be about the anticipated relaxation of FFP.

PSG have not been listed in the table before, as the French Ligue was not included, but the size of their investment has demanded a consideration of their spend. If they had been considered for inclusion in previous years, they would have been 12 last year and around 70 place the year before.

Chelsea are at Number 8 and Arsenal at Number 10. The top 20 also includes six teams from Major League Baseball, with the Dodgers joined by the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox.

There are five NBA basketball teams in the top 20. The Brooklyn Nets are the best paid among them at Number 11 and they are joined by the New York Knicks, the LA Clippers, the Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets. The other four top-20 teams come from La Liga (Real and Barca), Ligue 1 (PSG) and the Bundesliga (Bayern Munich, at Number 7).

[C-R]

@ Reg - If there was a "thanks" button i would have hit it for that post, thanks mate

[C-R]

Seems we have a bit more than we thought, considering a poor season we still earned nearly 93 million ££££'s

[leeroy74]

and they have the cheek to charge £3.20 for a pie at Anfield? I'm boycotting all pies at Anfield next season...   Pie stall man out! pie stall man out!

[kazza]

Seems we have a bit more than we thought, considering a poor season we still earned nearly 93 million ££££'s

I suppose that is why Prem teams are so attractive to overseas investors. We also need to add the Eufa money which is probably another 20 million plus the match day receipts. Interestingly the diff in revenue from that list between first and sixth is only about 6 million. No incentive to come first.