- United hit with €300,00 fine
- Barcelona slapped with €500,000 penalty
- Red Devils failed to break even
WHAT HAPPENED? Manchester United and Barcelona were both hit with six-figure fines by UEFA for breaching the European governing body's Financial Fair Play regulations.
WHY HAVE THEY BEEN PUNISHED? United "reported minor break-even deficits" according to a statement by UEFA and will have to pay €300,000 ($336,000). Barcelona were judged to have broken a more severe penalty, which UEFA described as "wrongly reporting, in the financial year 2022, profits on disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers) which are not a relevant income under the regulations". The Catalan club were fined €500,000 ($561,000).
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Since 2013, clubs participating in European competition have been assessed against break-even requirements, which require clubs to balance their spending with their revenues, with the aim of preventing clubs from accumulating debt.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT'S NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED AND BARCELONA? The penalties will not affect either side's participation in next season's Champions League and both clubs are due to start the group stage in September. They each begin their league campaigns on the weekend of August 12.