Uefa boss to scrutinise Manchester City's Etihad deal

[Tueart1976]

Not sure if ithas already been posted:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14490740.stm

Manchester City's sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways will be analysed by Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) boss.

In a 10-year deal reportedly worth £400m, Etihad now sponsors both the club's shirt and the stadium.

But with City and Etihad sharing Abu Dhabi links, critics have claimed this is an attempt to circumvent European football's strict new financial rules.

City declined to reply, although the club have previously said speculation over the figures was "not accurate".

"I have some questions, yes," said Jean-Luc Dehaene, the chairman of Uefa's Club Financial Control Panel.

"But it would be dangerous for our authority if we take judgements without facts."

The 71-year-old former Prime Minister of Belgium confirmed his panel would "benchmark" all deals to make sure they were "fair value".

"If we see clubs that are looking for loopholes we will act," he said.

"It is not enough to say 'we've got a sponsorship contract and that's OK' if the contract is out of line."

As well as the shirt and stadium, Etihad also sponsors The Etihad Campus which is being developed around the ground. This will create an expanded academy, sports science centre and training ground, as well as office and retail space and a 7,000-seat stadium for youth games.

All of this investment is exempt from the FFP rules as it is not deemed football-related. Any income accrued, however, does count.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport on Monday, City's chief executive Gary Cook said the deal was "unique".

"The Ethihad Campus, which constitutes some 210 acres is unique in its breadth, depth and length of term," he said.

"It involves the tradition, which is shirt sponsorship, the naming rights of the stadium, but what we haven't seen in football is a campus, creating a place to be, to work.

"We've got a great relationship with Ethihad. It's a long-term programme and they are equally very excited by it."

Cook added that City's recent spending was "not sustainable" but was needed to quickly attain Champions League football.

Manchester City have been the focus of intense scrutiny ever since an Abu Dhabi-based consortium led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan bought the club in 2008.

The club made a loss of £93m in 2008-09, £121m in 2009-10 and last year's figures, due in September, are expected to be even worse, despite an increase in turnover partly due to a number of lucrative sponsorship deals with other Abu Dhabi-based companies.

Etihad Airways, for example, is owned by the Abu Dhabi government. The oil-rich state's ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is Sheikh Mansour's half-brother.

 

[MATCITY]

big waste of his time watertight as they come

 

[CityPar]

big waste of his time watertight as they come

The proof in the pudding will be the outcome of their investigations. I've no doubt City will have done their homework but UEFA will also want to make a point here and will pore over every minute detail to catch us out. We have to be prepared for the fact that we may get told the deal breaches the rules however obscure the fault might be.

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

big waste of his time watertight as they come

The proof in the pudding will be the outcome of their investigations. I've no doubt City will have done their homework but UEFA will also want to make a point here and will pore over every minute detail to catch us out. We have to be prepared for the fact that we may get told the deal breaches the rules however obscure the fault might be.

Im sure Etihad and our owner would be more than happy to take them to court and demonstrate how this deal is worth what it is. No deal like this has ever been struck so what market value are they going to test it against??

 

[Anonymous]

See 'FFP Again' thread ;-))

 

[Balti]

So who is this guy who will be looking us over?

''In 1994, he ordered the unilateral withdrawal of Belgian troops from Rwanda, thus lifting the last barrier to the genocide of Tutsis''

YCMIU

 

[Hamann Pineapple]

How dare we spend our money.

 

[Anonymous]

hehe .......

was it ever in doubt that it WOULDN'T be scrutinised closely ??

Platinis plans are primarliy aimed at us , no doubt about that ..... and he'll be doing all he can to try to stop us , you can bet your wifes silk drawers on it!

 

[MATCITY]

To be fair we can afford the best lawyers to look at this from all angles.
I would imagine (and hope) that no stone was left unturned and judging by the amout of time the deal took (in the vegas thread a deal was mentioned probably 12 months back) so all the factor of fair play will have been met

 

[SuperYaya]

I'm not worried in the slightest.