Manchester City has threatened La Liga President Javier Tebas with legal action after he said their partnership with Spanish club Girona was an attempt to “cook the books”.
Tebas made the accusation when he made an appearance at the Soccerex football conference in Manchester on Wednesday. He said City and French giants Paris Saint-Germain were “destroying football” with state-enabled spending.
Tebas said the assistance City and PSG received from their respective Emirati and Qatari backers amounted to “financial doping”.
He said the two clubs were “laughing” at European governing body UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, which oblige clubs to minimise their losses.
PSG prised Neymar from Barcelona in a world-record 222 million euros ($265 million) deal and have also signed Kylian Mbappe from Monaco in a move that could be worth 180 million euros while City outspent any other European club in the transfer window by lavishing around £221 million (242 million euros, $288 million) on new players.
Reacting to the accusations, City’s spokeswoman, in a statement released said: “Mr Tebas’s statements are ill-informed and in parts pure fiction.
“As you would expect, Manchester City Football Club and the City Football Group are seeking appropriate legal counsel and will act accordingly on that advice.”
UEFA has opened an investigation into PSG’s transfer dealings, but City are not under investigation.