English Premier League club Manchester City have confirmed via a statement that they are seeking legal counsel ahead of taking "appropriate action" against La Liga chief Javier Tebas after the Spaniard alleged that City has infringed Financial Fair Play regulations.
Tebas called on UEFA to launch an investigation into "state funded clubs" like Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City that are both owned by sovereign wealth funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates respectively.
On Wednesday, at the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester, Tebas accused the two clubs of "making a mockery" of the Financial Fair Play rules through their excessive spending on players in the transfer market. City have responded quickly to Tebas's allegations by releasing a statement through their club's spokesperson on Wednesday.
"We note the public comments made by Mr Tebas today and earlier this week," read the statement. "UEFA's statement on the 4th of September is clear and based on accurate information. By contrast, Mr. Tebas's statements are ill-informed and in parts pure fiction.
As you would expect, Manchester City Football Club and the City Football Group are seeking appropriate legal counsel and will act accordingly on that advice."
City is not under investigation
City's mention of the statement from UEFA made on the 4th of September was in reference to the fact that the club is not under investigation by the governing body of European football. However, UEFA confirmed last week that it had officially opened a formal investigation into Paris Saint-Germain.
Man City have spent 220 million pounds in this summer's transfer window. But they have also brought in 90 million pounds from sales making their net expenditure for the summer 130 million pounds.
Paris Saint-Germain's big summer window
Tebas's frustration over Financial Fair Play is believed to have stemmed from Neymar Jr.'s world record transfer from FC Barcelona to PSG this summer. The Parisians paid an astonishing 198 million pounds to the Catalans to bring the Brazil international to France's capital.
The Ligue 1 outfit then made another ambitious move for AS Monaco's 18-year-old superstar Kylian Mbappe. The France international has been signed on a season long loan deal which could be made permanent at the end of the 2017-18 season with the fee expected to reach around 166 million pounds.