Paris Saint-Germain could be forced to part ways with Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, as fresh Financial Fair Play (FFP) sanctions loom over the French club. According to fresh reports, there is the need for a major squad overhaul after the club recently posted an annual loss of $451M (£370M), and the wage bills of both players make them vulnerable to being offloaded.
Previously, PSG had expressed its desire to retain Messi, despite rumors of his potential departure to the MLS. On the contrary, Ramos' future at the club is less certain, with the Spanish defender also attracting interest from clubs in the United States. Nevertheless, the club's plans to negotiate contract extensions with the two players have been postponed until the end of the season, at least.
According to the Daily Mirror, UEFA's regulators are already circling around the club amid the suspicion of Financial Fair Play breaches. In the 2020-21 season, PSG were among 10 clubs fined for breaching FFP rules. The French club was subsequently instructed to pay out a $10.7M (€10M) fine while having a further $48.2M (€45M) suspended pending future accounts, with further punishments possible.
PSG are now focused on cutting costs ahead of the 2023/24 season, and this may involve offloading one or both of Messi and Ramos. The step has become necessary as the threat of FFP punishments would make it difficult for the to justify keeping high-earning players.
Per the Daily Mirror's report, the PSG may face severe consequences such as a ban on registering new players to their European squad for the upcoming season, as well as a possible reduction in the size of their registered squad from 25 to 23 players, if found guilty once more. In addition, there is a remote possibility that the club could be excluded from European competition entirely by the 2024/25 campaign. This would result from sustained losses in the intervening period, which underscores the urgency of the need to significantly reduce their wage bill.
