Top English clubs losing identity, says Platini

Published on Thursday 9 October 2008 23:06

UEFA president Michel Platini has criticised the influx of foreign owners into the Barclays Premier League, claiming that clubs are losing touch with their roots as a result.

The Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover of Manchester City in August was the latest in a line of deals which has seen Britain's top sides sell out to overseas investors.

But Platini feels clubs should be doing more to protect their identity. "If you bring people from Qatar and there is no-one from Liverpool or Manchester at the club, where is Liverpool or Manchester?" he said.

"I think it is not good. I think the Qataris should invest in Qatar. They should develop the football in each country."

Platini wants to introduce measures to prevent the trend developing across Europe. "Can we do something against it? I will try to," he added. "Do you want in Liverpool an Arab sheikh as president with one Brazilian coach and nine or 11 African players? Where is Liverpool in that? We have to make some rules.

"What is football? Football is a game and this game has become popular because of the identity. You have to have identity, that is where football's popularity lies."

Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam feels that Platini has "some ground" for concern. But while Qatari national Bin Hammam, who like Platini also sits on the Fifa executive committee, would much rather see the billions of Middle Eastern investment going into the confederation's own clubs, he feels little can be done to prevent such business across the globe.

"Coming from Asia, from a different culture, where these things never existed, it seems strange to have foreign ownership of clubs and huge debts. This is a new vocabulary for us," Bin Hammam said in London yesterday.

"Michel has raised it and it is his continent. A continent which is leading the way. Maybe he has some ground with that."

Bin Hammam continued:

"Absolutely I would prefer the money to be invested in Asian clubs – but we don't have much world-class football to be invested in. In the future I hope we will."

Football Association chairman Lord Triesman this week called for a salary cap for players to try to safeguard the future of clubs, but

Platini does not anticipate anything being implemented in the near future. "We have to speak about the number of contracts in the clubs, we can speak about salary but I am not an expert," he said.