City and PSG’s contrasting records expose the limits of UEFA’s 2014 settlements
Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain were both found to have massively breached UEFA's financial fair play rules in 2014, with deficits exceeding €180m when only €45m was permitted. Rather than face severe sanctions, both Gulf-owned clubs signed lenient settlement agreements with €20m fines each and spending restrictions. Their subsequent paths have diverged strikingly: PSG has largely complied, whilst City has faced escalating scrutiny and fresh charges of continued breaches.
Between 2011 and 2013, PSG's deficit was €218m and City's €188m against a permitted maximum of €45m. Both clubs avoided stricter punishment through settlement agreements, though a 2018 investigation by Der Spiegel suggested then-UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino played a key role in securing the lenient terms through confidential meetings with both clubs. City was subsequently suspended from the Champions League for two years in 2020 (overturned on appeal) and last month the Premier League found the club "significantly in breach" of spending limits between 2009 and 2018, with City now appealing that verdict.
- Both clubs massively exceeded financial limits in 2014 but avoided severe sanctions.
- City faced repeated investigations and new breaches; PSG fined again in 2022.
- A 2018 investigation claimed a then-UEFA official facilitated the original lenient agreements.
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Financial fair play rules, introduced by UEFA to regulate spending in European football, set limits on how much money clubs can lose over a given period. Between 2011 and 2013, both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain massively breached these rules, with losses of €188m and €218m respectively, far exceeding the permitted €45m maximum. Both are Gulf-owned clubs that had invested heavily in recent years.
Rather than face the bans from European competition that the rules would normally require for breaches of this magnitude, both clubs signed settlement agreements with UEFA in 2014. Each was fined €20m and accepted restrictions on future spending.
The two clubs have since taken divergent paths. Paris Saint-Germain has largely complied with its settlement terms, whilst Manchester City has faced escalating investigations from both UEFA and the Premier League into alleged continued breaches of financial regulations. This divergence has raised questions about the consistency of enforcement.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Settlement agreements provide a pragmatic framework for regulatory enforcement, maintaining competitive integrity whilst imposing meaningful penalties. PSG's subsequent compliance suggests the model can incentivise behavioural change. At the time, UEFA may have faced legitimate constraints that made negotiated resolutions more feasible than attempting to impose harsher sanctions that could be challenged legally or prove unenforceable.
The case against
The settlements appear inadequate for the scale of breaches involved, with clubs exceeding the permitted deficit by over €180m facing only €20m fines—negligible for state-backed institutions. Manchester City's subsequent continued breaches and current Premier League charges demonstrate the 2014 settlements failed as both deterrent and reform mechanism. The reported confidential negotiations involving senior UEFA officials raise serious questions about whether enforcement was principled rather than designed to be lenient.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Manchester City v PSG is a reminder of the path not taken in sanctions battles”.