Friday, 16th May, 2014
Manchester City have reached an agreement with UEFA over a penalty for breaching the organisation's financial fair play rules.
The Citizens have been slapped with a £49m fine, however £32m of that sum is suspended. They have also had their Champions League squad cut to a maximum of 21 players, from the usual 25-man group.
Further to the punishment, Manchester City are not allowed to spend more then £49m on players this summer, although that does not take into account any fees received.
Manchester City said in a statement: "The club can confirm that it has been in discussions with UEFA over the last month – in relation to the application of Financial Fair Play regulations – as has been widely reported and communicated by UEFA. At the heart of those discussions is a fundamental disagreement between the club’s and UEFA’s respective interpretations of the FFP regulations on players purchased before 2010. The club believes it has complied with the FFP regulations on this and all other matters.
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"In normal circumstances, the club would wish to pursue its case and present its position through every avenue of recourse. However, our decision to do so must be balanced against the practical realities for our fans, for our partners and in the interests of the commercial operations of the club."
The English champions are not the only side to have been hit with punishments, Paris Saint-Germain having been fined and had their squad for the Champions League capped.
Other clubs deemed as guilty of breaching financial fair play rules are Anzhi Makhachkala, Zenit St. Petersburg, Rubin Kazan, Galatasaray, Bursaspor, Trabzonspor and Levski Sofia.
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