Football clubs must be ready for stricter financial control by the European body UEFA but the “Financial Fair Play” concept is not out to kill big clubs, UEFA boss Michel Platini said in an interview published on Thursday.
Platini told German daily Die Welt that while UEFA has no power to take action in connection with club debts it can help the clubs minimise losses.
“We don’t want to destroy the clubs but work together with them in a constructive way. We want to prepare them for a system from 2013-14 onwards that will make football in Europe more just. From them on we will be strict,” Platini said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Many clubs have debts, pay interest on them and can work in a normal way. We can not forbid this. But we want to work with the clubs to fight losses.” Platini said that “Big clubs will never die” as the elite outfits seem safe from tough sanctions.
According to auditors and consultants Deloitte, Manchester United have amassed debts of 800 million euros (1.01 billion dollars), Real Madrid 327 million euros and Barcelona 202 million euros.
Similar to a system used in the German Bundesliga, European clubs must present their balance sheets to UEFA from 2013 onwards and act according to the “Financial Fair Play” system rules.
ADVERTISEMENT
Platini said that a deficit cap of five million euros will be introduced for the period 2013-2015. New debts can not exceed 45 million euros and have to be covered by owners or other parties. This figure is to shrink to 30 million euros by 2018 and even further in the following years.