Arsene Wenger has come out in defence of Financial Fair Play - saying it is the most "logical" way to run a football club.
The Arsenal manager was reacting to the news that compatriot and UEFA president Michel Platini is ready to relax the rules following pressure from some of Europe's biggest clubs.
Opponents of FFP have claimed that the regulations restrict the growth of both clubs and the sport, but Wenger argued that it seemed to him the most appropriate model to follow.
"I have no problem to lose the battle," said Wenger. "I just did fight for what looks to me to be logical: that any business, to have a continuity, should live with the resources that it creates. It doesn't look like anything absolutely unbelievable.
"If you open any shop tomorrow, you do not expect your neighbour to come in say 'I help you and give you some money, even if it doesn't work'.
"You want as well to protect your business. If somebody comes in and goes tomorrow to Totteridge (where I live) and says 'I want to create a world-class team', puts the money in, and after he moves away, then Totteridge goes down again."
He added: "If you produce cars and he produces cars, and somebody comes in and says: 'I can sell the cars at half price for five years just to make you die', then you die.
"We have to protect the clubs to live with their own resources, and as well for fair competition.
"[Football] is a Formula One race, where you have Super Formula One, Formula Three, Four, Five and Six, so the days where Nottingham Forest could win the European Cup have gone."
Speaking to French radio station RTL about relaxing the rules, Platini said: "The world is two-faced but we will say this openly: I think we'll ease things, but it will be the executive committee who will decide if it is to be eased or something like that, and the outcome will be known by the end of June.
"I think the regulations have been very good and it is the clubs who voted for FFP.
"But the French press say it is not right that (Chelsea owner Roman) Abramovich can buy many players and in France they can not buy them.
"But if the Qataris had bought AC Milan the French would also say we should make financial fair play even tougher. As it is, the Italians wanted it eased."