Peter Kenyon recalls telling UEFA that Financial Fair Play will only benefit the 'big boys' before trying to buy Newcastle United

Before the PIF, Amanda Staveley and the Reubens successfully liberated Newcastle United from the claws of Mike Ashley, former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon was in talks to buy the club.

The Peter Kenyon bid did look at one point like it was going to be successful, but it turned out to be another false dawn for 'the last of the sleeping giants' as Kenyon put it.

Amanda Staveley's PIF-backed takeover went through in 2021 and while Financial Fair Play (now known as Profit and Sustainability Rules) were still a thing, the loopholes were closed and restrictions were tightened in order to keep the Magpies at bay with the Premier League terrified of the Saudi fortunes being spent at the club.

There aren't many people these days who will argue that FFP/PSR is a good thing (except maybe Stan Collymore) for the game in its current guise, and even Peter Kenyon himself told UEFA it was a bad idea.

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Peter Kenyon warned UEFA that FFP would just serve the big clubs

As reported by The Chronicle, Kenyon told the Business of Sport that even when he was in charge at Chelsea he warned UEFA that FFP would only 'lock in' clubs like Chelsea at the top of the tree.

"There was less regulation then than there is now. We're all seeing the impact of FFP. It's not about money any longer. There are people with a lot of money who can't spend it, which has effectively locked the big boys in.

"That was my argument with UEFA a long time ago. I said, 'You've not levelled the playing field. You've actually locked me in. I'm a big boy. I've used that and got the scale that these guys are never going to get.'

"There was definitely a reaction. How do we stop these so-called rich people coming in and taking away our sport? Manchester United wasn't that in that sense and it had grown. You're not stopping Real Madrid. That super group are still the super group that they were then so it's done nothing to bring them down."

UEFA and the Premier League have known for 16 years that FFP was unfit for purpose

Given that Peter Kenyon left Chelsea in 2009, that shows how long UEFA and indeed the Premier League, have been operating these financial restrictions with explicit knowledge that it's not fit for purpose.

The fact that Kenyon said "it's not about the money any longer" tells you all you really need to know about these organisations and the big clubs who have them on strings.

It also really emphasises the point that it's going to be very difficult to change things as the distribution of power is all wrong. There needs to be a way to break up that so-called super group before changes can be made. However, we saw when the recent changes to the Associated Party Transaction rules were voted through how terrified the smaller clubs are of those wielding the power.