‘Attacks economic stability of European football’ – La Liga hit out at Kylian Mbappe PSG deal

There has been a twist in the Kylian Mbappe saga, with La Liga releasing a statement announcing that they will file a complaint against Paris Saint-Germain over their new contract offer to the Frenchman.

Mbappe said: “I would like to announce that I have chosen to extend my contract at Paris Saint-Germain, and of course I am delighted. I am convinced that here I can continue to grow at a club that provides everything necessary to perform at the highest level. I am also delighted to continue to play in France, the country where I was born, where I have grown up and where I have made my name.

“I would like to thank the President, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, for his trust, his understanding and his patience. I would also like to thank all the fans of Paris Saint-Germain, both in France and around the world, for their support, especially in recent months. Together, side by side and ambitious, we will make magic in Paris.”

However, to say the news has not gone down well in Spain would be somewhat of an understatement.

La Liga president Javier Tebas had already said the contract was ‘an insult to football’, but their condemnation has now been taken to a new level.

The statement reads as follows:

“La Liga wishes to state that this type of agreement attacks the economic stability of European football, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and the integrity of the sport, not only in European competitions, but also in domestic leagues.

“It is scandalous that a club like PSG, which last season reported losses of more than 220 million euros after accumulating losses of more than 700 million euros in prior seasons (while reporting sponsorship income at doubtful valuation), with a squad cost around 650 million for this season, can close such an agreement, while those clubs that could afford the hiring of the player without seeing their wage bill compromised, are left without being able to sign him.

“La Liga will file a complaint against PSG before UEFA, the French administrative and fiscal authorities and European Union authorities to continue to defend the economic ecosystem of European football and its sustainability.

“In the past LaLiga has complained to UEFA for non-compliance with financial fair play by PSG. These complaints were successful and UEFA sanctioned the club, while the Court of Artbitration for Sport (CAS), in a bizarre decision, reversed the sanctions.

“La Liga and many European football institutions had hope that PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi after entering bodies of European football management such as the UEFA Executive Committee and the presidency of the European Club Association (ECA) would abstain from these practices knowing they cause grave damage, but the opposite has been true. PSG is assuming an impossible investment, seeing that it has an unacceptable wage bill and large financial losses in prior seasons. It is violating current UEFA and French economic control rules.

“This behaviour demonstrates once more that state owned clubs do not respect and do not want to respect the rules of a sector as important as football. These rules are key to protect and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs.

“This kind of behaviour led by Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, and member of the UEFA Executive Committee and president of ECA, endangers European football on the same level as the European Super League.”

The new contract was publicly announced in front of a jubilant crowd at the Parc des Princes, with the Frenchman posing for a picture alongside president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

PSG conclude their Ligue 1 campaign against Metz tonight.