Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has emerged as an unlikely ally to Uefa president Michel Platini's crack down on football clubs playing in Europe who spend beyond their means. 

 By Emily Benammar
Published: 9:40AM BST 28 Aug 2009

Financial cap: Roman Abramovich has welcomd Uefa's plans to limit clubs spending beyond their means Photo: AP

Speaking in Monaco ahead of yesterday's Champions League draw, Platini identified Abramovich and AC Milan's Silvio Berlucsoni as prime examples of club owners wanting rules to be implemented to control the rising inflation on transfer fees, wages and debt within football.

Platini said Abramovich's complaints stem from the spending habits of clubs like Manchester City who have spent £120 million in this transfer window alone compared to Chelsea's £23 million.

The Frenchman explained that under the 'financial fair play' mantra, clubs like City would be welcome to spend such large sums on the condition that it represents the same figure as what the club brings in from television rights, sponsorship deals and competition prize money.

Failure to break even he said, would result in clubs being expelled from European competition.

"It's mainly the owners that asked us to do something. Roman Abramovich, Silvio Berlusconi at AC Milan and Massimo Moratti at Inter," Platini said. "They do not want to fork out any more.

"Manchester City can spend £300m if they want to but if they are not breaking even in three years then they cannot play in European competition.

"I have met with Abramovich, who is a football person and passionate about the game. He said that we must do something about this.

"It doesn't matter if one team doesn't agree, because this is what the clubs want."

Confident the plan would do nothing to affect clubs in the long run and in fact could help them acquire more financial backers, Platini added: "Under the new system, you will get more investors in the future because they will be able to make money.

"At the moment you don't get these businessmen because clubs are losing money.

"If a club can get loans from a bank to buy players and is able to pay back bank loans, then it is not a problem. But if a club gets a lot of money or subsidies from a big backer and is still in deficit in two years, then it is a problem and we don't like that."

Details of the proposals will not be finalised for another 10 months with the plan set to come into action in the 2012/13 season.

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