• Premier League

Mancini not in favour of FFP proposals

ESPN staff
February 9, 2013
Roberto Mancini does not believe Manchester City should be applauding the new FFP plans © PA Photos
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Roberto Mancini has come out against the Premier League's new Financial Fair Play rules, declaring that wealthy owners should be allowed to bankroll their clubs.

Manchester City, who have a net spend of £179 million under Mancini, were one of six top-flight clubs to vote against the regulations to control spending, which will take effect from next season.

Clubs will be limited to losses of £105m over a three-year period and those with a wage bill of £52m or over will only be allowed to increase it by £4m per year, plus any extra money earned from commercial and match-day revenue. Points deductions could be applied to those who over-spend.

And Mancini said: "I do not agree with this rule. If I am a rich man, I want to spend all my money on my team."

Since his 2008 takeover, City owner Sheikh Mansour has spent an estimated £1 billion on transfer fees and wages for City, who announced an annual loss of £98m for 2011-12, and Mancini believes the change in regulations benefits the established order and will make it harder for other mid-table clubs to propel themselves into title contention.

He added: "It is clear with this rule it is more difficult than 10 years ago. In the past there were a lot of teams who spent a lot of money and they have this also now."

Mancini said City will abide by the rules but believes it is harder for them to get value-for-money in the transfer market because other clubs inflate the asking price when they are interested.

He explained: "It is also true that every time that Manchester City moves for a player, if his value is £10m, they ask for £30m. There should be other rules for this because sometimes you want to buy a player for £10m or £12m but it's £30m for Manchester City."

The City manager also called for life bans for any players found guilty of match-fixing.

A Europol investigation uncovered hundreds of games that may have been fixed by a worldwide betting ring and Mancini said: "I can't believe what I read in the newspapers. This is incredible.

"If there are some players who do this, they should finish playing football."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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