Aleksander Ceferin, the Uefa president, described how “we forget how dirty this industry is" as he vowed the governing body will not shy away from sanctions against the big clubs.

Uefa has been under siege in recent weeks, facing blistering criticism from Manchester City over a potential Champions League ban likely to be announced this week.

Ceferin has also been tackling a potential overhaul for the Champions League from 2024 and dealt with anger over the choice of Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, as the host of next week’s Europa League final. “Sometimes, we forget how dirty this industry is,” he told the New York Times.

The plan to ban City over alleged financial fair play deceptions has been doubted by La Liga president Javier Tebas, who suggested Uefa had no interest in listening to stakeholders beyond the top clubs.

Ceferin is critical of Tebas in the new interview. “He’s loud,” Ceferin said. “I think it’s part of his tactics to operate like that. But I don’t think it’s very productive.” The president added: “Look, one way of operating is shouting, ‘The rich will take everything!’ And this is typical of the populist shouting in European politics.” Ceferin, 51, said he would not comment on the City case while it is continuing, but he rejected the suggestion that Uefa might shy away from sanctioning any club.