Roma hit with a 6 million euro fine from UEFA for breaching financial rules

AS Roma left UEFA’s monitoring cycle with their pockets emptier than expected. The Roman club, controlled by the Friedkin group, accumulated two financial penalties for failing to meet the parameters required in the agreement signed with the European confederation – and still remain under surveillance for the 2026/27 season.

Two fines, one and the same problem

The first sanction, of 2 million euros, came because the Giallorossi slightly exceeded the intermediate target relating to the financial year ended in 2025. Bad, but manageable. The second, however, hurts more: another 4 million euros were applied for the fact that the club registered a squad-cost ratio above 70% of revenues over the 2025 calendar year – the limit set by UEFA as an acceptable ceiling.

In total, that is 6 million euros in penalties. For a club already facing considerable financial pressures, it is not a trivial figure.

The contrast with the Milan clubs

While Roma stumble, Inter and Milan met the targets set in their respective agreements with UEFA and came out clean from the process. Alongside the two Lombard giants, Monaco, Beşiktaş, Paris Saint-Germain, Antwerp and Trabzonspor also managed to successfully conclude their obligations. A varied group, but with a common denominator: financial discipline within the required parameters.

The logic of UEFA’s rules is clear. A squad cost/revenue ratio above 70% signals that the club spends more than it earns in proportion – an imbalance the confederation tries to correct precisely to prevent clubs from going into unsustainable debt in pursuit of sporting results.

Roma are not off the radar yet

The fines do not close the chapter. The First Chamber of the ICFC – UEFA’s financial disciplinary body – confirmed it will continue to monitor Roma during the 2026/27 season. The club needs to demonstrate real progress in its financial metrics to finally come off the monitored list.

The scenario is uncomfortable. Any move in the transfer market, any significant signing, will have to take this regulatory context into account. The interest in big-name players, as recently speculated with Mason Greenwood, will have to pass through the filter of the budget restrictions imposed – both by UEFA’s financial fair play and by the very reality of the club’s balance sheet.

Roma have room to correct course. But the clock is ticking, and UEFA do not tend to accept promises.