Manchester United fined by UEFA for Financial Fair Play rule breach

Manchester United have been fined by UEFA for breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

United have restricted their spending in the summer transfer window, so far signing only Mason Mount from Chelsea in a deal which could reach £60m including add-ons.

The Premier League club has a limited budget after spending more than £220m on transfers last summer following Erik ten Hag's appointment as manager, leading to concerns the club was at risk of breaching FFP rules.

It has now emerged that United have indeed breached those regulations, albeit from a period prior to Ten Hag's arrival at Old Trafford.

UEFA say United reported 'minor break-even deficits' covering the financial years from 2019 to 2022.

The Premier League club has been fined €300,000 (£256,747) by European football's governing body for the minor rule breach.

UEFA confirmed the fine in a statement on Friday, which read: "During the 2022/23 season the CFCB First Chamber, chaired by Sunil Gulati, concluded the assessment of the break-even requirement covering the financial years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

"This is the last time the CFCB assessed the clubs on the basis of the "old" Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, Edition 2018.

"Manchester United FC (ENG), Konyaspor (TUR) and APOEL FC (CYP) reported minor break-even deficits. These clubs were fined respectively with €300,000, €100,000 and €100,000."

How will this affect Man Utd's transfer business?

United insist that the fine is related to historic issues and will have no impact on the club's transfer business this summer.

"While disappointed by the outcome, Manchester United accepts this fine for what UEFA acknowledges to be a minor technical breach of its previous Financial Fair Play rules," read a club statement.

"This reflected a change in the way that UEFA adjusted for COVID-19 losses during the 2022 reporting period, which allowed us to recognise only €15m of the €281m of revenues lost due to the pandemic within the FFP calculation.

"Post pandemic, the clubs' revenues have recovered strongly and are forecast to reach a record level in the current financial year.

"The club continues to support the enforcement of rules to promote financial fair play and sustainability across domestic and European football."

United were not the only club fined by UEFA, with La Liga giants Barcelona also punished for breaching FFP rules.

The Mirror reported that the Spanish club were fined €500,000 (£428,286) for wrongly reporting profits on disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers), which are not a relevant income under the regulations.

Riga FC, Olimpija Ljubljana and Slovan Bratislava were each fined €10,000 (£8,565) for failing to submit complete and accurate break-even information.

Anderlecht did not meet targets set by an earlier conditional agreement and was imposed a fine of €100,000 (£85,606), while Istanbul Basaksehir also did not meet the targets set for the financial year 2022 and was imposed a fine of €400,000 (£342,520).

Meanwhile, Royal Antwerp and Trabzonspor were found to have not complied with the break-even requirement.

“In line with previous jurisprudence, the CFCB concluded settlement agreements with both clubs,” reported The Mirror.