State clubs provoke an instability of our sport, asserts Joan Laporta

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have established their status as elite clubs in European football since significant investment was made in the club by state-backed parties. City changed the face of English football forever when they were acquired by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008. The reigning English champions' current squad cost approximately $1.1 billion to assemble making it one of the most expensive teams in world football.

Paris Saint-Germain's fortunes changed dramatically for good when Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) purchased the club in 2011.The takeover made the French club not only the richest club in France but one of the wealthiest in the world. Since the takeover the Parisian club has dominated French football as they have won the Ligue 1 title eight times. 

Critics have been outspoken about the financial power of both clubs as they use resources outside the footballing world and Barcelona president Joan Laporta has urged UEFA to take drastic measures to preserve the integrity of the game.

“The state clubs are a problem because they provoke an instability of our sport, of football in Europe. I’m asking for rules that have to be more strict for these kinds of clubs because the resources they are using in football doesn’t come from the football industry,” Laporta said at the launch of a new partnership between Barcelona and UNHCR.

“In our case, and most of the clubs in Europe, the resources that we are generating come from the industry of sports … and these state clubs are not using the same tools in order to compete. I ask the regulators like Uefa and leagues of each country to be stricter because, for instance, in Spain we have rules much more strict than in France or the Premier League,” he added.