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"We found ourselves in a situation where we had make an important profit to avoid being in breach with the PSR (profit and sustainability rules),' said Damian Vidagany, Villa's director of football operations. 'It was very challenging.
'Everybody was cheering and celebrating the Champions League, but Monchi (Villa's transfer chief) and I were at the party thinking how we could avoid a points deduction that would have spoiled a wonderful season. There was a bomb with the countdown, and we were there to cut the cable. We arrived at the last second with this problem.
This is ludicrous. The PL should not allow clubs to buy and register players unless they have the money to pay everyone they are in contract to pay. That is it. Full stop.
Financial Governance Rules should be there to prevent clubs from going out of business as a result of poor planning. Nothing to do with protecting some clubs having massive competitive advantages.
Fair Play Rules imo should be completely separate with the primary purpose of evening the playing field for clubs, players, fans, etc. For example ...
- forms of drafts waited in favour of lower finishing clubs, or clubs not in Europe
- restrictions on the number of players the top clubs can sign
- restrictions on the profile of new players for some clubs (e.g. must be home grown or under a certain age, etc)
- money paid into a fund for lower teams if you spend over a certain amount.
- etc etc.
There should also be some rules to protect the fan's experience, e.g. maximum ticket prices, maximum % profit on match going fans, min % spend on facilities, Health and safety, inclusion, etc, etc.
All in all - even if clubs are guilty - supporters of most clubs should be utterly livid about how their club is not being held to proper standards. A lot of clubs (and players) are like pigs at the trough now and able to blame FFP for them getting fatter at the expense of the fans and the sport.