Gary Neville has labelled La Liga "corrupt" after the Spanish league released a statement confirming they will file a complaint against Paris Saint-Germain over Kylian Mbappe's new contract.
It was confirmed on Saturday that Mbappe has penned one of the most lucrative deals in football history to stay at the Parc des Princes, with the French forward set to pocket close to £1 million-a-week in wages.
In fact, Mbappe has reportedly received a signing-on bonus of around £100 million – a quite staggering sum that has caused some serious debate online.
Advert
La Liga have already announced in a statement that they are set to make a complaint against PSG over the contract and soon after, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville reacted on social media.
"La Liga can do one!" he wrote "As corrupt as the rest."
So what did the statement say? Here it is in full:
"La Liga wishes to state that this type of agreement attacks the economic stability of European football, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and the integrity of the sport, not only in European competitions, but also in domestic leagues.
"It is scandalous that a club like PSG, which last season reported losses of more than 220 million euros after accumulating losses of more than 700 million euros in prior seasons (while reporting sponsorship income at doubtful valuation), with a squad cost around 650 million for this season, can close such an agreement, while those clubs that could afford the hiring of the player without seeing their wage bill compromised, are left without being able to sign him.
"La Liga will file a complaint against PSG before UEFA, the French administrative and fiscal authorities and European Union authorities to continue to defend the economic ecosystem of European football and its sustainability.
'In the past LaLiga has complained to UEFA for non-compliance with financial fair play by PSG. These complaints were successful and UEFA sanctioned the club, while the Court of Artbitration for Sport (CAS), in a bizarre decision, reversed the sanctions.
"La Liga and many European football institutions had hope that PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi after entering bodies of European football management such as the UEFA Executive Committee and the presidency of the European Club Association (ECA) would abstain from these practices knowing they cause grave damage, but the opposite has been true.
"PSG is assuming an impossible investment, seeing that it has an unacceptable wage bill and large financial losses in prior seasons. It is violating current UEFA and French economic control rules.
"This behaviour demonstrates once more that state owned clubs do not respect and do not want to respect the rules of a sector as important as football. These rules are key to protect and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs.
"This kind of behaviour led by Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, and member of the UEFA Executive Committee and president of ECA, endangers European football on the same level as the European Super League."
La Liga president Javier Tebas later branded Kylian Mbappe's new three-year contract worth almost £1 million-a-week at Paris Saint-Germain an "insult to football" after he rejected a move to Real Madrid.
He wrote on Twitter: "What PSG are going to do by renewing Mbappe with large amounts of money (namely where and how they pay him) after giving losses of €700m in recent seasons and having more than €600m of salary bill, is an INSULT to football.
"Al-Khelaifi is as dangerous as the Super League."
Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, meanwhile, went on to label Kylian Mbappe's new contract as a 'milestone' for the Ligue 1 club.
"Kylian's commitment to PSG represents an amazing milestone in the history of our Club, and a wonderful moment for our fans around the world," he said.
"Since the day Kylian joined our family, he has achieved greatness beyond his years on every single stage.
"In committing to PSG, he will be the foundation of our club's future both on and off the field. I am incredibly proud and very happy – for Kylian, for our fans, and our entire PSG family worldwide – that we will continue our wonderful journey together.
"For our fans and our club, the greatest chapters of our future lie ahead."
Topics: Gary Neville, Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe, Ligue 1
Jack Kenmare