Just like the long ball technique and baggy shorts that reached to the knees, the days of lavish spending in football may be numbered.
Europe's top football clubs were braced yesterday for new regulations from UEFA, the governing body of European football. The rules, already agreed on in principle last September, are set to be introduced in the 2012-2013 season. They would limit the amount of money that clubs could borrow and receive in loans from their owners.
Any club that breached the rules would face exclusion from European competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, the world's richest club football competition.
About half of Europe's leading clubs are losing money, while 20 per cent run large deficits. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan, the Champions League winners, would struggle under these terms.
The proposals would be likely to affect up to three quarters of English Premier League (EPL) clubs, including Chelsea, the League champions and FA Cup holders, Aston Villa and Manchester City, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Michel Platini, the president of the UEFA, has warned of the "danger to football" caused by debt, overspending and "rampant commercialism". He is quoted as saying that overspending is "a question of survival for our sport".
Clubs would have three years to break even under the "financial fair play" plan. The rules would not affect domestic leagues.
An EPL spokesman told The Guardian most of the new rules are "common sense", but warned: "If the regulations are introduced as reported, we envisage a difficult period of adjustment for our member clubs who play, or aspire to play, in European competitions."
UEFA said this week there would be exceptions for losses where a club was building a stadium or investing in a youth academy.
"We're not trying to level the playing field," said a UEFA spokesman. "We want to make sure that the middle-ranked clubs don't go spending millions which they don't have as they try to compete with the big clubs. The underlying principle is that clubs cannot repeatedly spend more than their generated revenues."
* with Reuters
rwright@thenational.ae
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
The%20Roundup
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Tesalam Aleik
Abdullah Al Ruwaished
(Rotana)
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Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
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Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
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Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now