Guardian: EU will not take investigative action on Tebas allegations against Manchester City and Paris

On May 16, The Guardian reported that Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain will not face investigation by the European Commission. Previously, La Liga President Tebas accused the two clubs of illegally obtaining national resources in accordance with the EU's Foreign Subsidy Regulations. In a complaint in July 2023, Tebas claimed that Manchester City and Paris obtained resources from the Abu Dhabi and Qatar governments on non-market conditions, respectively, allowing them to crush their competitors in player and coach spending and disrupt the market with sponsorship revenue that does not meet the fair value of the market. Both clubs denied the charges and proved their innocence with financial reports, while noting that Tebas had long malicious attacks on his competitive and financial success.

Sources who understand the preliminary assessment of the European Commission revealed that the complaint would not enter the formal investigation process due to insufficient evidence. EU investigation resources are limited, and people from Brussels say they usually only accept complaints that may become cross-industry benchmark cases. Although the top clubs violated football rules, sources said that the evidence submitted by La Liga failed to prove the violation, and only equated the commercial cooperation between Manchester City, Paris and its affiliated companies with state subsidies, which did not meet the investigation threshold.

The European Commission declined to comment except for a February statement, when they confirmed that they were evaluating a complaint about football clubs: "The European Commission can investigate foreign subsidies that are suspected of distorting internal markets in any economic sector, including sports, but cannot comment on the cases under evaluation."

Tebass compared Manchester City's financial management to Enron in 2001, which sparked strong indignation on the Blue Moon. Club sources firmly denied its allegations, but Manchester City did not respond publicly. Tebas claimed at the Financial Times Football Business Summit: "Manchester City Group has a large number of companies outside the Football Group structure to transfer expenses. These companies bear losses rather than the club itself, and we have submitted relevant facts and data to the EU."