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There was some news worth noting from Spain this morning, as Malaga found out the fate of their appeal to see their European ban overturned. Unfortunately for the La Liga side, TAS found that there was no reason to overturn the ban, and Malaga will not be able to take part in European competition next year:
Official: TAS have dismissed the appeal from Malaga. The club will not be able to play in Europe next season.
— Gary Linton (@AlbaEspana) June 11, 2013
Which means that Sevilla will of course be in the Europa League next season.
— Gary Linton (@AlbaEspana) June 11, 2013
So why is this relevant for Chelsea? There were three real things that caught my eye about the news that they wouldn't be participating in the Europa League next year.
First, there is the link between Malaga and Chelsea, in which the Blues would reportedly like to send a few more youngsters there for polishing. The lack of Europe takes away anywhere from 6-15 games for the youngsters to take part in. Not a major loss certainly, but it's a loss all the same.
Second, we've been linked heavily to Isco in the past, and that speculation will almost certainly begin again because of this. I highly doubt losing out on the Europa League will be the thing that pushes Malaga over the edge to sell, but the papers won't worry about that at all.
Third, Sevilla have a kid that I really like on the pitch in Geoffrey Kondogbia. He worries me off the pitch, but based purely on footballing ability, he'd be a very welcome addition to the Blues. While Sevilla probably had little incentive to sell anyway, the fact that they now need players for 6-15 more games (and have a little extra income) will make it all the more difficult to pry away their young talent.
The papers will almost certainly almost run with this story about FFP having teeth as well, and use it as a warning to clubs like Chelsea, PSG, and Manchester City. The reality here is that these were not new regulations though, as clubs that haven't been able to pay their debts or taxes have been subject to UEFA discipline for quite a while. FFP is a totally separate issue, but don't expect some of the 'finest' publications in Europe to bother noting that.
