Kieran Maguire: Liverpool FFP status now in doubt after ‘ludicrous’ Uefa rule change
Changes to Uefa’s assessment period mean it will be more difficult to gauge how well Liverpool are performing under Financial Fair Play.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the new revenue-based profit and sustainability system.
European football’s governing body is currently in the process of phasing in a new cap that permits clubs to spend no more than 70 per cent of turnover on wages, transfer fees and intermediary payments.
The previous model allowed for losses of £30m and was assessed over a three-season rolling basis.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner told the Liverpool ECHO earlier this year (25 May) that the club is “fighting to strengthen the Financial Fair Play rules.”
Maguire revealed that the new assessment period covers the calendar year rather than the footballing campaign.
The spreadsheet expert explained why this makes things more challenging for analysts such as himself to draw meaningful conclusions from club accounts, which typically cover the 12 months up to 31 May in any given season.
“Uefa are aware that that are people like me who go through everything with a fine-tooth comb,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“So, they have now made the assessment period from 1 January to 31 December. That means you can’t do any proper analysis.
“It’s ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous. I imagine it will start on 1 January 20223. It makes things so much more difficult for independent analysts like me.”
The new cap will start at 90 per cent before being reduced by 10 per cent year by year until it reaches 70 per cent.
Liverpool lost £4.8m during the Covid-hit 2020-21 camapign, the last financial year on record.
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