UEFA banned Juventus from playing in European competition for the 2023-24 season and fined the club up to €20 million on Friday for violating a previous settlement agreement and breaching Financial Fair Play rules.

Juve had qualified for the Europa Conference League courtesy of a seventh-place finish in Serie A last season. A 10-point deduction for false accounting, which the Italian football federation issued in May, dropped the Bianconeri from fourth to seventh place.

Chelsea also received a €10-million fine for “submitting incomplete financial information.” UEFA said the club’s new ownership group “proactively reported” the financial anomalies to the governing body and determined they had occurred under previous owner Roman Abramovich between 2012 and 2019.

The Italian football federation previously ruled that Juventus inflated the value of player sales to remain compliant. The scandal, prompted by public prosecutors in Turin, forced former president Andrea Agnelli, vice president and former Ballon d’Or winner Pavel Nedved, CEO Maurizio Arrivabene, and the entire board of directors to resign.

Despite reiterating the club’s innocence, Agnelli’s successor, Gianluca Ferrero, said Juventus wouldn’t appeal UEFA’s decision.

“This decision is in line with the one taken last May in the context of the disputes with the (federation),” Ferrero said in a statement. “As in that case, we prefer to put an end to the period of uncertainty and ensure full visibility and certainty.

“Lodging an appeal, possibly to other levels of judgment, with uncertain outcomes and timing, would increase the uncertainty with respect to our eventual participation in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League.”

UEFA ordered Juventus to pay €10 million in penalties and another €10 million if they fail to comply with FFP regulations in the next three financial years.

Fiorentina, who finished behind Juventus in eighth place, will likely take their rivals’ place in the Europa Conference League.

Kylian Mbappe has refused to meet with representatives from Al-Hilal despite being offered a base salary of €200 million to play for the Saudi Pro League team, according to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano.

A delegation from the Saudi club arrived in Paris hoping to speak with the striker after getting permission from Paris Saint-Germain, who accepted a world-record €300-million transfer bid.

Mbappe, whose contract at PSG expires next year, has no intention of joining Al-Hilal, Romano adds.

Along with a €200-million salary for a one-year deal, Al-Hilal reportedly promised to give Mbappe up to €700 million in revenue generated from their use of his image and likeness.

PSG believe that Mbappe has an agreement to join Real Madrid on a free transfer when his contract ends in June 2024, Romano reports.

Mbappe declared in June that he intends to fulfill the final year of his contract and play for PSG during the 2023-24 season.

After he refused to commit his future to PSG and trigger the one-year extension in his current deal, the Ligue 1 side dropped Mbappe from its preseason tour of Asia and forced him to train with the reserves.

The 12-month clause in Mbappe contract expires at the end of July.

PSG are reportedly prepared to bench Mbappe for the entire season if he isn’t sold this summer. A loan move away from the French capital is another possibility, with several clubs believed to be interested in signing Mbappe to a temporary deal.

After PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s ultimatum to Mbappe over his future at the club, French footballers’ union UNFP came to the World Cup winner’s defense, describing the club’s treatment of him as “moral harassment.”

The 24-year-old scored 41 goals in all competitions for PSG last season. He has 397 goal involvements for club and country during his illustrious career.

Manchester City remain “very far apart” in negotiations for defender Josko Gvardiol despite reports indicating a record-breaking deal had been reached, RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl said Friday.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano reported exclusively Wednesday that City and Leipzig had agreed to a fee – believed to be worth a record for a defender at around €100 million – and that Gvardiol had even completed the first part of his medical. Romano tweeted an update Thursday saying “tension” had developed between the two clubs during the final stage of the negotiations but reiterated that an agreement was still in place.

“A lot has been written, and the latest information about Josko surprised us all,” Eberl said, per BBC Sport. “Currently, we’re still very far apart.”

Eberl confirmed Gvardiol had joined Leipzig’s preseason training camp in Italy and that he hadn’t yet completed a medical with City.

“And I don’t think he did it behind our backs because he’s just a full professional,” the director added. “There is no agreement, not even remotely an agreement.”

Eberl said earlier this month that City had opened talks with Leipzig over a potential €100-million deal for the 21-year-old center-back but stopped short of saying a transfer was imminent.

The fee, which equates to around £86 million, would make Gvardiol the most expensive defender in world football. Harry Maguire set the record when he completed his £80-million move to Manchester United in 2019.