o/t Platini to Ban Utd., City & Chelsea from Europe?

[marky No.1]

We could be banned as well with all these new signings

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 225941.stm

[campdave]

Whilst I'd love to see this come into plan, the big boys will just take their toys and form their own league if it ever got off the drawing board.

[morecambe mick]

However would we cope without the income from the UEFA cup games

[eggchaser]

its mind boggling how a club like real madrid can afford to spend hundreds of millions on players and yet still have over £500M worth of debt!

its like having a giant mortgage to pay off then deciding to get a huge extension on the house, buy a 50" TV and build a swimming pool in your garden..... How the hell do they get away with it

[marky No.1]

its mind boggling how a club like real madrid can afford to spend hundreds of millions on players and yet still have over £500M worth of debt!

its like having a giant mortgage to pay off then deciding to get a huge extension on the house, buy a 50" TV and build a swimming pool in your garden..... How the hell do they get away with it

One reason why the Banks lost billions and we are in a credit crunch right now. There's loads of plasmas, flash cars, swimming pools, office blocks, apartments, caravans ,football stadiums etc been built but never been paid for

[campdave]

How the hell do they get away with it

Government bailouts - they're like a massive national status symbol.

[Mighty Red]

The "top" clubs know they can get away with it. If EUFA puts too much pressure on then the clubs will threaten a breakaway European league and EUFA will have to back down.

[North Stand Shrimp]

its mind boggling how a club like real madrid can afford to spend hundreds of millions on players and yet still have over £500M worth of debt!

They are basically underwritten by the Spanish government. There is some kind of agreement whereby they cannot go into administration however bad their debt becomes.

[P/T Indie]

Roman Abramovich was in favour of the idea as he believes this free spending getting into debt is wrong

I notice he says this just after he wrote off a lot of their debt by isusing a new share issue.