UEFA President Michel Platini stands at odds with his FIFA counterpart, Sepp Blatter, on the issue of private foreign investment in soccer clubs, according to comments the latter made in a conference call with reporters. Whereas Platini described foreign owners as “a serious threat to European soccer,” Blatter on Thursday said, “No, I think they are good for the game as long as the money comes from the right sources … This investment of money is what allows football to become so exciting and funds the attraction.”
Platini feels differently. Last month, the UEFA president wrote to 27 European Union leaders, including Gordon Brown of England, Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, begging them to help him protect the game from “the malign and ever-present influence of money”. He accused the owners of big clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United of only being interested in their value as an investment.
Blatter said he totally disagreed with Platini’s actions. “As long as the money is correctly handled, then we do not have anything bad to say about these owners. Also we do not see a need for the EU to interfere in this.”