US billionaire slams Premier League's FFP rules and Ligue 1

American billionaire John Textor has claimed that current Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules in English soccer are extremely flawed. The Crystal Palace majority owner even went as far as to say that the laws essentially stop clubs from challenging the Big Six. This list of top Premier League clubs includes Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, the two Manchester teams, and Tottenham Hotspur.

Textor made the comments in a sprawling discussion at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit. The key point in his speech surrounded the fact that rich investors cannot pump as much money as they want into their teams. “It’s clear that (the rules are) built to make sure that clubs which do not drive significant revenues cannot catch up,” stated Textor.

“It doesn’t matter if you have a billion dollars of cash in a wheelbarrow, you’re not allowed to spend it. Does that make any sense? (Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos) Marinakis has plenty of money to fund his team but he’s not allowed to. If he spends too much and does what the fans want, somebody comes along and docks him points? That’s not right.”

John Textor says FFP is a ‘fraud of a term’

According to English soccer officials, FFP laws were put in place to help prevent clubs from spending significantly more than they earn. In turn, this helps teams from getting into serious financial trouble, which may cause clubs to fold.

Nevertheless, Textor disagrees with this simple reason for the financial rules. “Financial Fair Play is a fraud of a term, to say it’s about sustainability,” continued the Palace owner.

“Sustainability should be about the quality of your balance sheet, not ratios against your profit and loss. There’s nobody that actually thinks that makes sense.”

“We have got three billionaires in our ownership group (at Palace), maybe more. We’re not allowed to spend at the level of teams that are in the top six.”

Palace fans do not need to trust ownership, says Textor

Along with discussing the impacts of FFP, Textor also addressed a few of his clubs as well. The American currently owns a series of teams around the world, including Palace and Lyon. Textor has come under fire due to the London club’s current situation. Many Palace fans disagree with how way the club is being run and their place in the table. Banners protesting against the majority owner have been seen inside Selhurst Park in recent weeks.

Textor, however, asserts that he does not necessarily care about the banners. “There’s a lot of talk of that but it’s misguided,” claimed the businessman. “I read these banners which are nonsense. I showed up a couple of years ago and I do nothing but support as one of four members of the board and then I see banners which say ‘Textor we don’t trust you.’ I don’t care. They don’t need to trust me, I’m not running the club.”

The American also claimed that the Ligue 1 is not necessarily fun anymore. Paris Saint-Germain has managed to collect nine of the last 11 French top-flight titles. The Parisians are currently leading the French title race by 11 points at the moment.

“Who is going to be interested in the French Championship and watch it on TV if we know who is going to win,” proclaimed Textor. “Everyone is fighting for second place, it’s the same team that wins every year.”

American may sell his stake in Palace in the near future

Textor’s comments are likely to ruffle some feathers in multiple areas. Claiming that he does not care about appeasing the passionate Palace fans will certainly not go down well in south London. His FFP opinions are also polarizing as well. He does, however, have a point with his thoughts about Ligue 1. PSG’s intense French dominance is not necessarily good for the league.

Frustrations over England’s financial rules and tensions with Palace fans may make the businessman depart the club. It was reported in January that Textor was considering selling his majority stake in the club. The American will, however, reinvest the money he would potentially receive back into a soccer team.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.