Michel Platini is proposing to phase out any club in debt from the Champions League within the next 3 years.Platini's latest brain wave follows an idea to cap European club spending which was heavily criticised at the time.
Platini sounds serious - he has met with Russian business tycoon Roman Abramovich with the objective of getting Chelsea onside with the concept of getting all clubs under some type of debt control. Man City are on course to turn in the biggest financial loss than any other club, Real Madrid will be plummeting into the red to the tune of £800m...this is football's own credit crunch waiting to happen and my view is that Platini is correct to dig his heels in now. However, the reality is that the Champions League is a football extravaganza for the heavy weights ... if in 3 years time Man Utd or Real Madrid are in debt then their expulsion is this reallistic? It would surely de-value UEFA's prestiguous competition.
In Germany, there is real practical financial management each and every season within the Bundesliga. All teams apply for a licence to appear in the German league each season and this is based on the solvency of the football club in question. Perhaps these measures at domestic level prior to any drastic changes at European competition level.
The perfect club from an ownership perspective is Barcelona. The fans are a huge stakeholder group in any club of substance and at Barca they own the club. Therefore there are no 'sugar daddies', no buying/selling and look at the result now - European champions.
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