Spending cap in football? CBF unveils new rules for the Brasileirão | OneFootball

Financial fair play and spending limits are hot topics among Brazilian football fans and the CBF

With Flamengo having the financial means to sign players from Europe, rival fans are calling for financial fair play without even understanding what it entails. Moreover, some argue for a spending cap in the Brasileirão. However, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) dismisses the idea of controlling how much each team can invest.

— Using the models we know from abroad and I think work best for football, there should always be a percentage relationship. With a defined cost, how much you spend on payroll, investment, hiring in relation to the club's revenue. We have to remember that I can't equalize the unequal. A club that makes R$1 billion, it worked to reach that value. So I can't make a club that makes R$ 1 billion spend the same as a club that makes R$ 200 million — said CBF consultant, Cesar Grafietti, in an interview with ‘GE’.

— What do I do with this money and all the efficiency that was generated by the management in some way? We have Flamengo, Palmeiras, Corinthians reaching R$ 1 billion reais, even more than that. Why would you say they can only spend R$ 200 million or R$ 300 million because a regional club or a small city club can only make that in revenue. It's unfair to those who managed to grow and do a good job of restructuring and boosting their revenues —, added the CBF official.

AND WHAT ABOUT FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY, WILL IT COME INTO EFFECT?

Some fans believe that the implementation of financial fair play will be able to limit the spending of teams that are doing well financially. However, the model only aims to ensure that clubs do not spend more than they earn. The CBF wants to implement the novelty as early as 2026.

— The financial fair play model has a single and basic objective of making clubs pay their bills on time. It won't balance competitiveness, it won't make everyone spend the same thing. That's not it. So, when it is applied and the fan of the club that makes half of what the highest earner makes realizes that to fit within fair play he will need to control his accounts, won't be able to hire as many people, will have to pay everything on time, he may feel uncomfortable at first —, he explained.

— But, in the long run, this translates into greater competitiveness. It may seem like a paradox here, but because by paying on time you can convince more players to play for your club, attract more sponsors, improve your management. It was no coincidence that Palmeiras and Flamengo managed to stand out from the moment they became sustainable and balanced. So, at first, maybe the fans may feel a lack of competitive capacity, but because the competitive capacity of their clubs was based on imbalance, on debt, on payment delay —, Grafietti concluded.

GOOD NEWS FOR FLAMENGO?

The information given by the CBF consultant brings more tranquility to Flamengo. After all, the club is already in line with the rules of financial fair play, even though the model has not yet been implemented in Brazil. On the other hand, the news about the spending cap also does justice to the long period of cost adjustment carried out since 2013.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.