La Liga file Dembele legal complaint after France star leaves Barcelona for PSG
La Liga has filed a complaint against Paris Saint-Germain with the European Commission, just hours after the French champions completed the signing of Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona.
Dembele completed his €50.4million (£43.5m) switch from the Catalan club to PSG on Saturday. It continues a summer of drastic renovation in the French capital with superstar Lionel Messi departing for Inter Miami while the futures of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both remain unclear.
Megastars Mbappe and Neymar – the latter of whom is currently ruled out of action through illness – both are excluded from the club’s Ligue 1 opener with both keen to quit PSG before the summer transfer window closes and part of a five-player group being encouraged to leave by club chiefs.
Midfielder Marco Verratti joins them and also isn't in the squad to face Lorient on Saturday in the club’s first match under new boss Luis Enrique. With other summer arrivals including Marco Asensio and Goncalo Ramos, PSG are keen to move on several of their highest-earning players.
La Liga’s complaint about the French capital club to the European Commission relates to ‘subsidies received by the club that it (La Liga) believes distort the market and contravene the European Union ’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation’.
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The Spanish league’s issue relates to PSG’s ‘funding mechanisms, which seriously distort the European Union's (EU) internal market’. La Liga believe that the European Union's Foreign Subsidies Regulation has been contravened by subsidies received by the French club from Qatar.
Dembele trained with PSG on Saturday (Aurelien Meunier - PSG/PSG via Getty Images) Have Your Say! What do you think of La Liga’s complaint over PSG ? Tell us what you think here.
PSG are run by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), chaired by the French club’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, bought 70% of the club's shares through state-run QSI in the summer of 2011 and established PSG as the major force in French football.
Alongside owning 100 per cent of PSG, QSI has a 21.67 per cent stake in Portuguese club Braga – widely recognised as the fourth biggest club in the nation – while it is believed they are hopeful of becoming investors in another European club in continental competition, alongside at least one South American club.
PSG are run by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), chaired by the French club’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi (AFP via Getty Images)QSI want to emulate the City Football Group, of which 81% is majority owned by Abu Dhabi United Group. They own Manchester City, Mumbai City, Melbourne City and New York City while holding stakes in seven other clubs including Brazilian club Bahia.
La Liga have said of their complaint: ‘This regulation, which is applicable from 12th July 2023, concerns foreign subsidies granted by non-EU states to companies carrying out economic activity within the internal market, taking into account those given by public companies that are, directly or indirectly, controlled by a state, including subsidies granted within a period of five years prior to the implementation of the regulation.
‘As a result, La Liga has filed a complaint alleging that PSG has received foreign subsidies from the State of Qatar, which has allowed it to improve its competitive position, thus generating significant distortions in several national and EU markets.
‘Specifically, as outlined in the complaint, PSG obtains resources on non-market terms which distort several closely related markets, allowing PSG to use those foreign subsidies to sign top players and coaches well above its potential in a normal market situation. It is also able to secure sponsorship income which does not correspond to market values. This enables them to boost their sporting performance, as well as affecting the ability of rival clubs to recruit.
‘This improved sporting position then enables PSG to increase its competitive position in markets related to sporting competitions (e.g. those for the audiovisual marketing of competitions or the sponsorship market), thereby artificially increasing the club's value within said markets.
‘Therefore, La Liga trusts that the European Commission, thanks to this new regulatory tool, will take the necessary measures to eliminate market distortions such as those described above, which seriously damage the sporting ecosystem.’
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