Maheta Molango, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, described the loophole encouraging clubs to sell academy products to balance the books as “absurd” and called for a change to the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.
With the sale of local players considered pure profit, several clubs have taken the opportunity to balance their books before the Premier League's deadline to present its annual accounts on Sunday. Aston Villa, Chelsea and Everton are among those believed to be close to exceeding the PSR's new spending limits who have sold players from their academies in recent days.
Ian Maatsen is expected to join Villa from Chelsea for around £35m, while Omari Kellyman will move in the other direction for £19m. Villa have also signed Lewis Dobbin from Everton, while Tim Iroegbunam is heading in the other direction.
These measures were criticised by Molango, who has called on the Premier League to consider changing its rules because they are “counterproductive for the players”. He added: “It’s another good example of how players need to be at the table. We need to be part of those discussions, otherwise you end up introducing rules that make sense in a nice air-conditioned office, but in practice they don’t make any sense.
“How can it make sense that because of the rules you end up selling a youth player? It also doesn't make sense for the club because that's part of your identity, part of what makes the club what it is. You end up with meaningless situations that comply with the rules but are counterproductive for the players, but also for the club and also for the fans. The fans want to see their youth players, those are the ones who make you dream, the ones who create that bond with the club. That is why the governance of football has to change.”
Molango has also called for further consultation on the Premier League’s plans to introduce “anchoring” – where clubs’ spending on wages, transfers and agents would be capped at a multiple of the television and prize money revenue earned by the bottom club in the league – next season. Manchester City and Manchester United are among those to vote against the new rules, which are being discussed by stakeholders on the Professional Football Negotiating and Advisory Committee (PFNCC).
“There needs to be a consultation. “I am not sure that we all have the same concept of consultation,” he added. “Consultation is not about having a crazy idea, listening to someone, modifying it a little and having something a little less crazy, but crazy nonetheless. This is not a consultation. We hope to be able to follow the rules, what the PFNCC rules say, once we have enough information we will evaluate and decide the next steps.”
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed last week that the next edition of the African Cup of Nations in Morocco will be held starts in mid-December to accommodate the expanded Club World Cup and the new Champions League format. Molango, a former DR Congo under-21 international, strongly criticized the decision, which he believes could affect the chances of African players being signed by English clubs in the future.
“It seems disrespectful to me that it is always this competition that has to give way,” he said. “It is not normal that a player in England has to choose between the Christmas period, which is the crucial period for clubs, and his national team, knowing that it is important for him and that the consequence of not going to the national team has consequences for his family at home. Why should a player be put in that situation? And will it really hinder the possibility of an African player being signed by a club?”
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He PFAFrench trade union UNFP and the European arm of global players’ union Fifpro this month filed a lawsuit against FIFA at the Brussels commercial court seeking to “challenge football’s broken calendar structure” after details for next year’s Club World Cup were announced. Europe’s highest court will be asked to rule on whether or not football’s world governing body has breached the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights (including Article 5 which bans slavery and forced labour).
“We have been clear about what our limits are: we want to defend our national calendar, which has not been modified in the last 20 years. We see no reason why it should be affected,” Molango said. “If I asked you to continue working for two consecutive years without a break, I think that would be the closest thing to forced labor. Money doesn't solve any situation. If anything, it increases visibility and pressure to deliver when you are not physically or mentally prepared to do so.”
