UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin warns against reckless overspending by clubs

European clubs have been warned against "reckless" spending on player wages and transfer fees by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

A new UEFA report found just 12 clubs were responsible for two-thirds of the overall €1.9 billion losses made by 144 clubs who reported financial results early for 2022.

UEFA's Club Licensing Benchmarking report released found that of the top-20 revenue-earning clubs in Europe who had already reported or estimated their 2022 financial figures, 16 of them had higher wage bills compared to the period before or during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report found Paris St Germain spent an eye-watering €729m on total staff wage costs in 2022, which the report said represented a wage-to-revenue ratio of 109%.

The French club, who agreed a lucrative new deal with Kylian Mbappe last year and also have Argentina's World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi on their books, were fined last September by UEFA for breaches of its new financial sustainability regulations.

The report found player wages were up 16% on average across the continent compared to pre-pandemic levels, with operating costs up by 11% in line with the inflationary pressures in the wider world.

On average, the clubs reporting early on 2022 were found to be spending 83% of revenue on player wage costs, net transfer costs and non-player wage costs, even before other operating costs are factored in.

UEFA has introduced new financial sustainability regulations designed to ensure clubs spend within their means. In the summer, the PA news agency understands, UEFA will tighten the regulations so that clubs can only split the cost of a transfer fee over a maximum of five years of a player's contract.

That follows on from Chelsea awarding seven and eight-year