Lionel Messi has signed a two-year contract with Paris St-Germain after leaving Barcelona in the summerParis St-Germain have hit back at Spanish league chief Javier Tebas after he mocked the French club’s spending and the age of their players.
PSG general secretary Victoriano Melero said Tebas should deal with the debt and “mismanagement” in La Liga.
Melero says comments relating to the age of the players – including Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos – are “disrespectful” and “insulting”.
Tebas has also repeatedly referred to Qatar-backed PSG as a “state club”.
“Time after time, you allow yourself to publicly attack the French League, our clubs, our players while constantly posting insulting and defamatory statements insinuating that we do not conform to the football financial regulations,” said Melero.
Tebas recently said PSG were “as dangerous”external-link as the failed European Super League proposal.
Then, referring to the French side’s recruitment, he added: “PSG looks like the league of legends given the age of some players.”
Messi, 34 and Ramos, 35, both signed two-year deals this summer, joining on free transfers after leaving Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, amid a financial crisis hitting the Spanish game.
Writing to Tebas, Melero said: “It will not have escaped your attention that we comply with Uefa and French regulations. It is worth noting that the French League did not, like your league, wait until recent years to put in place strong financial regulations.
“It is now publicly known that certain Spanish clubs and your league are facing unsustainable levels of debt after gross mis-management, not to mention the way Spanish football has been financed over the past decade – including by the state.
“Now you are also directly and disrespectfully attacking the players. Your remarkable comments on the age of these players not only insults their past and current roles in defining how our great game is played but also the millions of fans around the world who idolise them.
“I am quite surprised you are not focusing more of your attention on the two clubs in your league – Real Madrid and Barcelona – that remain steadfast focused on breaking up your league and European football as a whole.
“We invite you to focus on solving your domestic issues, which you are responsible, and to stop your transparent and repeated diversion attempts.”
The French League (LFP) also said Tebas should focus on his league’s own problems.
“The LFP asks Mr Javier Tebas to watch his outrageous statements,” it said, which were “not worthy of the institution he represents”.
“However, the LFP wishes to point out that the financial largesse from which Spanish clubs have benefited for many seasons and which is at the root of the current problems, is neither its responsibility nor that of Paris St Germain,” the LFP said in a statement.
Think you know your sport?: Paddy McGuinness hosts brand new Question of Sport with Sam Quek and Ugo MonyeThe Hunt for a Killer: Two bodies and one brutally authentic Swedish crime drama