How is it possible that the PSG superteam passed Financial Fair Play? Paris has a trick

It looks amazing on paper. Messi, Neymar, Mbappé, Ramos, Donnarumma, Hakimi. But this isn’t a Fifa career and teams have to follow certain financial rules. How come PSG aren’t subject to any?

Everyone knows full well that PSG have plenty of money for all their stars. In fact, they have a lot more than that, and they are eyeing Cristiano Ronaldo in the future. The sheikhs of Qatar have so much money from oil production that Messi’s salary is no problem for them.

But this is something that UEFA wanted to prevent, or rather, on the face of it, tried to prevent. It introduced financial fair play to prevent overpaying players and the domination of football by wealthy owners. But it has utterly failed.

At first glance, it must be clear to anyone that something is not quite right at PSG. Financial Fair Play should guarantee that teams do not spend more than they earn from football (!). So although the Sheikhs have billions from private activities, these must not be included in these calculations.

But PSG sold players for just €7 million this year. On the contrary, Achraf Hakimi came for 60 million euros, the others came for free. Free in big quotes, as the reinforcements were squeezed all the more on salaries and bonuses. The likes of Lionel Messi was reportedly given a €30 million signing bonus.

And the players’ salaries? That’s another dimension altogether. How is it possible that UEFA, with its strict protocols, will sanction a team that nets over €300 million in salaries for its players and almost double that in gross?

The answer is that UEFA’s Financial Fair Play works retrospectively, not pre-season like La Liga, which is why Messi had to leave. This means that PSG will only submit their balance sheet for this season at the end of the season, this year they can pay their players astronomical salaries with impunity. Moreover, there is no salary cap in Ligue 1 as there has been in La Liga since 2013.

The attacking trio alone will collectively rake in €100 million per season. And we are talking about net wages. Lionel Messi will earn almost €40 million in Paris, making him the highest paid player in the history of PSG and Ligue 1. He will leapfrog Neymar, who earns €36.8 million a season, and Mbappé, who earns €25 million a year.

PSG’s highest paid players:

Messi – €40 million (per season)
Neymar – €36.8 million
Mbappé – €25 million
Ramos – €21 million
Verratti – 15 million euros
Marquinhos – 15 million euros
Di María – 14 million euros
Donnarumma – 12 million euros
Keylor Navas – 12 million euros
Kimpembe – 12 million euros
Icardi – 12 million euros
Wijnaldum – €9.8 million
Hakimi – €9.8 million

The rest of the roster:: Paredes, Herrera – 8.5 million euros. Draxler – 7.6 million euros. Gueyé – 7 million euros. Diallo, Rafinha, Bernat, Sarabia, Kehrer, Kurzawa – 5 million euros. Dagba – 1.4 million euros.

So compared to last season, PSG accountants will send 92.6 million euros more. 40 to Messi, 21 to Ramos, 12 to Donnarumma and twice 9.8 to Wijnaldum and Hakim.

The salaries of the two main stars of the team are totally shot, but the other players are also receiving quite luxurious salaries. There is no doubt that PSG will easily pay all players, however Financial Fair Play is crying in the corner.

And how will they solve this crying problem by the end of the season? Logically, someone will have to leave, otherwise there is no way this superteam can be sustained. Kylian Mbappe is out of contract next year and would like to go to Real Madrid. If PSG sell him this year for 150 million euros, that could be the solution. If they let him escape for free next year, UEFA should be knocking on the door.

Source: Marca