Financial Fair Play protects established powerhouses – Kompany

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany hit out at UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, which he claims are designed to restrict the Eastlands outfit’s capacity.

Ahead of City’s derby with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Belgium international said the Financial Fair Play Regulations – brought in for the 2011-12 season – were designed to prolong their stands of established powerhouses such as United.

“That’s how I look at it anyway,” Kompany told the Sunday Telegraph.

“If you go into the business world you can’t say to anyone they cannot invest. I understand the fans have to be protected, the clubs have to be protected but plans need to be accepted.

“You win things; you get more fans. You get more fans; you create more revenue. That’s not a stupid way of thinking of investing in a business. 

“I do understand there needs to be regulation but I just wonder what is going to change at the top? 

“When I came to England it was just four clubs at the top. Four. The same top four all the time and that’s changed now.”

Kompany said the smaller clubs were not as protected by the regulations, as was the intention.

“What you do is actually protect the few who already have the things geared up to create enough revenue for them to invest more than anyone else,” he added.

“I think there needs to be a format that people respect. When you get into a club you need to subscribe to be in there for a number of years, you need to maybe commit to a certain number of regulations but in this case who are you protecting?”