London: Manchester City boss Garry Cook has said that the club is in talks with UEFA over how they are going to meet new Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations after announcing a 400 million pounds naming rights deal with Etihad Airways.
The ten-year agreement with Etihad Airways is due to run until 2021. Under the agreement, Eastlands will be renamed as Etihad Stadium. This is the largest single agreement struck by a football club and could see up to 40 million pounds a year ploughed into City’s finances, a daily reports.
But even with the new agreement, City will not come close to wiping out losses in excess of 120 million pound posted in the last accounts, to May 2010, which will leave them in jeopardy of failing to meet FFP regulations.“We already have a very open dialogue with UEFA and have had several meetings with their people. They are very supportive of our plans,” Cook was quoted as saying by the paper.
“All clubs have to comply to meet regulations and we are no different, but we are looking to grow, on and off the pitch. The backdrop, of course, is UEFA’s Financial Fair Play and this [deal] helps to continue to make significant progress in that area,” he added.
A special Airbus-330, with a City livery, will fly between Manchester and Abu Dhabi as part of the deal, which also includes an extension to Etihad`s present shirt sponsorship and the renaming of an area around City`s stadium, now known as the ``Etihad Campus”.
“We are aware of the situation and our experts will make assessments of fair value of any sponsorship deals using benchmarks,” a UEFA spokesman said.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, July 09, 2011, 18:59