Manchester City cheating for ten years, claims La Liga boss
MADRID, Spain – La Liga boss Javier Tebas has come out swinging at Manchester City, accusing the Premier League giants of “cheating for ten years” with their financial tricks.
The outspoken Spaniard ain’t exactly shy when it comes to having a pop at state-backed clubs like City and PSG, and this latest outburst was no different. Speaking at a finance event (thrilling stuff, eh?), Tebas reckoned Spanish football plays it straight while others bend the rules to breaking point.
“Football is global,” Tebas said, sounding like he was about to start a TED Talk. “And in Europe you face clubs under completely different systems. In England, there’s worry about debts, but City’s been losing money and cheating for nine or ten years since the new owners rocked up.”
Proper shots fired there.
He didn’t stop at Pep’s lot either — PSG got it in the neck too. Tebas pointed at their yearly losses of €200m, sneering that despite all that oil money, Spanish teams still outshine ’em in Europe. “La Liga clubs have won 30 more European titles than the Premier League this century,” he bragged. Fair play, the fella’s got the receipts.
Of course, plenty of folk say La Liga’s financial rules tie clubs’ hands. But Tebas batted that off, insisting the system’s solid. “There’s more than 200 articles. People always sniff around for loopholes, but that’s why rules exist. We’re the only sector where no club’s gone bust. Instead of blowing cash on cars and luxury tat, we’ve paid off public debt.”
Still, he did admit Spain lags behind on matchday money. Premier League and Bundesliga clubs rake it in, while La Liga’s about €600m short every year. His solution? More posh seats. “Our VIP boxes are only 4.3% of stadiums. In England it’s 11.5%. We need to fix that — it’ll bring in loads more cash and let us sign players.”
So yeah, Tebas is wagging his finger at City and PSG, claiming Spain’s the only one doing things proper. Whether Pep or PSG give a monkey’s is another matter.