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. Additionally, some advocate 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, which I think work better for football, it should always be a percentage relationship. With a defined cost, how much you spend on payroll, investment, and signings relative to the club's revenue. We have to remember that I cannot equalize the unequal. A club that earns R$1 billion has achieved that value. So I cannot make a club that earns R$1 billion spend the same as a club that earns R$200 million — said CBF consultant Cesar Grafietti in an interview with 'GE'.

— What do I do with this money and all the efficiency generated by management in some way? We have Flamengo, Palmeiras, Corinthians reaching R$1 billion, even more than that. Why would you say they can only spend R$200 million or R$300 million because a regional or small-town club can only generate that much 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.

WILL FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY BE IMPLEMENTED?

Some fans believe that implementing financial fair play will manage to limit the spending of teams that are currently financially strong. However, the model only aims to ensure that clubs do not spend more than they earn. The CBF intends to implement this innovation by 2026.

— The financial fair play model has a single and basic objective of ensuring that clubs pay their bills on time. It won't balance competitiveness, it won't make everyone spend the same. That's not the point. So, when it's applied and the fan of a club that earns half of what a more profitable club earns realizes that to comply with fair play, they will need to control their finances, won't be able to sign as many players, and will have to pay everything on time, they might feel uncomfortable at first — he explained.

— But, in the long run, this translates into greater competitiveness. It may seem paradoxical here, but because paying on time allows you to convince more players to join your club, attract more sponsors, and improve your management. It was no coincidence that Palmeiras and Flamengo managed to stand out once they became sustainable and balanced. So, initially, fans might feel a bit of a lack of competitive capacity, but that's because their clubs' competitive capacity was based on imbalance, debt, and delayed payments — concluded Grafietti.

GOOD NEWS FOR FLAMENGO?

The information provided by the CBF consultant brings more peace of mind to Flamengo. After all, the club is already compliant with financial fair play rules, 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 spending adjustments made since 2013.

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