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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has called for tougher sanctions on state-owned football clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Manchester City.
Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG)-owned Manchester City and Qatar Sports Investments (QSI)'s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have shot to fame in the last decade.
City, who are the reigning champions in the English Premier League, have won six league titles since the takeover in 2008. Paris, on the other hand, were acquired by QSI in 2011 and have thoroughly dominated Ligue 1 since, winning eight league titles.
State-backed clubs have been able to enjoy such unprecedented success through their financial might, by luring the biggest stars away from top clubs.
Barcelona president Laporta is not a fan of how PSG and City conduct business, claiming that they do not generate their revenues via football, thus provoking "instability."
On the topic of state-backed clubs, Laporta said (via 90min):
"The state clubs are a problem because they provoke an instability of our sport, of football in Europe. I’m asking for rules that have to be more strict for these kinds of clubs because the resources they are using in football doesn't come from the football industry.
"In our case, and most of the clubs in Europe, the resources that we are generating come from the industry of sports...and these state clubs are not using the same tools in order to compete. It is complicated to compete with these clubs that have a lot of big players spread around the world. And when you go to the market to buy players, it’s difficult to compete."
Urging footballing authorities to take firmer action against City and PSG, he added:
"I ask the regulators like UEFA and leagues of each country to be stricter, or at least harmonise all the rules. Because, for instance, in Spain we have rules much more strict than in France or the Premier League."
Barcelona have been stung the most by state-backed PSG
Last month, PSG convinced Kylian Mbappe to extend his stay, snubbing Real Madrid in the process.
The Frenchman's decision has generated a lot of noise since then, but the Whites are not the only club that have fallen victim to PSG's financial muscle. It is Madrid’s bitterest rivals Barcelona that have suffered the most at Paris' hands.
In 2017, PSG activated Neymar's €222 million release clause, thus luring him away from the Catalonian capital. Had they not compelled the Brazilian to join, Barcelona's future might have looked a lot brighter.
Last year, Paris capitalized on Barcelona's inability to renew Lionel Messi’s contract. The Parisians swooped in and offered him a two-year deal worth €779k/week (via Sports Illustrated), which the Argentine accepted.
It has been reported that they are also interested in signing Ousmane Dembele (via Forbes) this summer, making him the third Barcelona forward the Parisians have gone after.
With the Frenchman's contract expiring in a few days, the Blaugrana cannot do anything to stop the player from leaving for free.
