The setting seemed rather incongruous. Michel Platini stood Uefa suited and booted on a sun-drenched terrace of a plush Monte Carlo hotel, the Mediterranean lapping gently on the shore of the French Riviera below and luxury yachts drifting across the bay behind. One might have belonged to Roman Abramovich whose Chelsea, fresh from a summer spending spree that skirts £80m, were due to contest the European Super Cup on Friday night.
The scene oozed glitz and glamour and yet it was here, in this money-drenched enclave that boasts the highest number of millionaires per capita in the world, that Uefa's president delivered his annual reminder on all things financial fair play (FFP). The implementation of a scheme rubber-stamped four years ago is under way with the implications of the rules that have attracted most attention, that clubs have to break even, already being felt. "We wanted to revolutionise European football when we first introduced this idea," said the president. "We are never going back on this."
That mantra was repeated three times as if delivered for the oligarchs, American franchises and sheikhs who have transformed the face of football in recent years. Platini was speaking as clubs across Europe whipped themselves into a frenzy ahead of the closure of the transfer window. There is, Uefa insists, a uniform desire for FFP to work – both in terms of ensuring teams meet their existing debts, but also do not overstretch themselves – and yet the period since the plans were first made public has seen the continued spending of Chelsea, the eye-catching emergence of Manchester City and, more recently, Paris St-Germain, as well as clubs across Russia whose outlay on wages and in the transfer market would, at first glance, appear to fly in the face of all things FFP.
Those clubs argue they are not spending beyond their means, pointing to commercial revenues and sponsorship deals to justify their considerable clout. But there is also the example of Málaga, a club purchased by Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani of the Qatari royal family and who were heavy spenders last season, only for the owner's interest apparently to wane and funds dry up. There have been transfer bans, the threat of legal action over unpaid wages and a player exodus since, with this the kind of meltdown FFP is aimed at preventing. Clubs bought on a whim can be discarded and left to disintegrate just as quickly.
"It can happen at Málaga, it has happened at Portsmouth, it can happen everywhere," said Platini. "Many people are coming into the game to make business, to make popularity ... some actually love football, but remember Uefa are there to protect [the clubs], not kill them. I just want clubs to spend money they have, not what they don't have. I've spoken to football directors, chairmen and owners from all over the world, I've spoken to Manchester City's owners in Abu Dhabi, and everybody has given their commitment to this plan. Some aren't necessarily showing it, but we have been very clear with them. We have put the structure in place to implement these rules. If clubs do not respect the rules, they will get into difficulty, whether they are from France, from Italy, from England, from Georgia ..."
The sanctions will range from warnings, reprimands and fines, to the deduction of points, disqualification or exclusion from competitions and withdrawal of titles. The break-even rule comes into effect from the 2014-15 season – Uefa's club financial control body is taking into account the financial years 2012 and 2013 – though the other element of FFP, the overdue payments rule where commitments have not been met to players or other clubs for transfers, has been running since last year. The Hungarian club Gyori, AEK Athens and Besiktas are already banned from European competition. Disciplinary procedures are under way against another 27 clubs, who are in the process of being informed.
There was a criticism of national associations who allow such mismanagement to occur in their leagues – "Sometimes the associations don't do their work and we have to come after [them]" – though the threat of punishment, Platini suggested, is already having an effect. While Chelsea and PSG have poured money into recruitment, the average spend in the last two windows was actually well down on previous years. There was a 36% decrease in the winter window, from €613m (£487m) in January 2011 to €393m this year. Indeed, 2012's transfer spend of €2.146bn to 30 August represented only 78% of the 2008-11 average. Some might put that down to a difficult economic climate. Uefa and its president insist it is the shadow being cast by the imminent new rules.
How, then, does a proud Frenchman react to Ligue 1 boasting arguably the richest club in the world given the money PSG has flung at Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Lucas Moura and Ezequiel Lavezzi? "I'm not here to be proud or popular," added Platini. "I have to do my job as president of Uefa. We take decisions that apply for English, French and Russian clubs. Perhaps I will be unpopular [in France], but they will respect me.
"Anyway, you think people in Paris think about financial fair play and PSG? Most people in Paris don't even know there's a club in Paris … It's not London. This is France. It's different, even if people are surprised at the amount of money PSG are paying the players. They are not used to that."
That sense of shock will apply to those clubs who fail to comply in the years ahead. The message from Monaco was clear.
