UEFA have announced a financing deal with Citi bank allowing them to give €2bn to clubs, helping them to cover the losses from COVID-19, and in turn resisting the European Super League revival.
The idea had been in the works since August, as reported by the New York Times, and was confirmed today in a statement by UEFA.
Amid an attempt to revive the European Super League project, UEFA have stepped in with the European Club Association (ECA) to set up the European Club Football Recovery Plan.
It will start with an estimated amount of €2bn, but is expected to grow over time, becoming operational as early as Spring 2022.
“The objective of this financing programme is to structurally improve the financial stability of the European football clubs through leveraging UEFA’s club competition media rights revenues,” read the statement.
“The programme is intended to benefit top divisions European clubs subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria. These will include financial and sporting parameters, as well as compliance with club licensing and financial fair play regulations.
“The programme will provide eligible clubs with a stable source of funding at competitive rates over a long period of time, thus establishing a framework for future football funding.”
Unlike the financing deal set up by LaLiga with CVC, there is no equity changing hands here, so UEFA are essentially using future club competition revenues as security.
There are also plans mentioned to restructure existing transfer fees, so allowing them to spread the cost of transfer operations over a longer period of time.
That is a technique that many Serie A clubs, above all Juventus, are already dealing with, for example the number of loan with obligation to buy deals in the Italian market.