UEFA president Ceferin backs Mbappe deal; notes similarities between Madrid and PSG offers
Aleksander Ceferin, president of the European football governing body, UEFA, has thrown his weight behind Paris Saint-Germain in the wake of the Kylian Mbappe transfer saga.
After a two-year watch, Mbappe chose to remain at PSG for the next three years, signing a mega contract that has got the world talking.
This broke the hearts of all associated with Real Madrid, with president Florentino Perez even sending a personal text to Mbappe that read, "I regret what has happened in the last few days. They have broken the illusion that you had since you were a child. I wish you the best."
LaLiga's leadership released a statement angrily calling out PSG for the outrageous financial offer which they claim was used as leverage to keep Mbappe at Parc De Princes. They also stated that they will be taking up the issue with UEFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
But UEFA president Ceferin has hit back at LaLiga's leadership and every critic of the deal, stating that Madrid offered to spend just as much on Mbappe as PSG did.
Both clubs offered a sign-on bonus to Mbappe that exceeded €100 million, performance-related bonuses that exceeded €100 million and concessions from image rights that could also exceed €100 million. The difference in both offers was in the salary of the player.
While Madrid were reported to have offered Mbappe a €20 million-per-annum salary, PSG were reported to have offered between €40 and €60 million-per-annum (weekly wages in the range of €1 - €4 million).
What has Ceferin said?
Ceferin vehemently opposed the notion that UEFA ignored a breach of financial fair play regulations in the PSG deal. He also hit out at Madrid's and LaLiga's objections, calling them hypocritical.
"UEFA has financial fair play rules which are quite strict," he told BBC Sport. "Whoever will respect our rules is welcome to play in our competitions; who will not respect the rules will not.
"Look, not Real Madrid or anyone else will tell UEFA what to do. They are outraged from one point of view and, as much as I know, their offer was similar to [PSG's] offer."
Ceferin was also asked about his thoughts on state-run clubs who have plenty of money and political power.
"I've said that many times and I will say it again, tell me one argument why they shouldn't be the owners of a club," he replied.
"If you say that clubs belong to the fans, don't you think that the other English clubs have owners - they have owners from the United States, some from the Middle East, they have owners from England.
"So it's exactly the same situation and I'm really tired of these accusations without any concrete grounds. I want to know who broke the rules and if you break the rules then you will be punished."
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