Platini: New rules have ended transfer ‘anarchy’

UEFA president Michel Platini claims the governing body’s new rules on spending have ended the “total anarchy” that surrounded player transfers.

This summer’s transfer window is expected to show another drop in spending by Premier League clubs – and that despite Manchester City’s £126 million (€153.7m) spree.

UEFA’s new financial fair play rules, aimed at ensuring clubs in European competition only spend what they earn, are due to come into force from next season though they will be introduced gradually.

Last year Premier League clubs spent £450m (€549m) but this summer the total sum could be down by 25%.

Platini said: “For years and years we were in total anarchy but the clubs asked for the rules because they knew they could not continue.

“We can see already that the clubs are spending less as they look to balance their books.

“This is because the first time the break-even rule will kick in is in the coming year, the 2011/2012 season.

“Transfers have not been as crazy as in the last few years, they are pulling up their socks and the clubs are making special efforts to comply with the rules.”

Owners will be allowed to inject £12.3m (€15m) a year into clubs up until 2015, and then £8.2m (€10m) until 2018, but the cash cannot be a loan. UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino confirmed: “In 2018 we will assess it and the objective is to go further down.

“It cannot be a loan however it must be a capital injection or donation.”

Clubs with very rich owners could get around the rules – if for example City owner Sheikh Mansour or Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich handed over a large capital sum to their clubs now, before the new rules kick in, that could tide them over the next decade.

The position of Manchester United and Liverpool, who have been paying large sums to pay off the interest on the debts their owners took out to buy the club, still remains less clear.

United are insistent that they would comply with the rules to only spend what they earn but Infantino confirmed that interest payments are taken into account.

“The costs to finance the debt are included,” he said.