‘Chelsea rivals upset again as Premier League to act on controversial PSR loophole’
Chelsea’s rivals have got a specific issue as the Premier League attempts to close a controversial PSR loophole for the second year in a row.
Last summer saw a chaotic merry-go-round of transfers take place between clubs on the verge of failing to be compliant with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Elliot Anderson joined Nottingham Forest from Newcastle, Tim Iroegbunam made the switch from Aston Villa to Everton, and Ian Maatsen left Chelsea to join Unai Emery’s side.
This summer, plenty of clubs are once again at risk of failing to be PSR compliant, and consequentially could receive a punishment from the Premier League.
Football finance expert Stefan Borson revealed in a Substack post that Villa, Everton, Leeds United, Man United, Forest, and Newcastle were all at risk of failing PSR this summer.
The finance expert, also named Chelsea, but explicitly mentioned that they were not at risk of failing the Premier League’s rules, but UEFA’s instead.
Now, The Times has reported that ahead of the Premier League‘s annual meeting, some clubs are feeling hard done by over the Blues steering clear of a PSR sanction.
Premier League clubs want to benefit from same PSR loophole as Chelsea
Chelsea controversially sold their women’s team to a sister company [BlueCo] in April for £198.7million [BBC Sport].
As reported, the 20 Premier League clubs are “expected to be asked to vote on a change to its rules” for the second year in a row so that similar transactions “cannot be declared as income for PSR purposes”.
A minimum of 14 clubs would need to vote in favour of the rule change to see it passed, something that failed to happen last year when the issue was brought up.
Club sources revealed that “the wording of the proposal could be crucial” as teams felt the wording was “too broad” last time and that they would be stopped from declaring income from selling assets, such as property, to parties not related to the clubs.
This time around, it is also understood “some clubs believe that as Chelsea have previously benefited from the loophole then others should be allowed the same opportunity”.
Premier League risks mutiny as Man City, Man United, Arsenal could do same deal as Chelsea
Football Insider Verdict
Borson suggested after Chelsea’s controversial sale that other clubs could follow suit.
Man City, Man United, and Arsenal’s women’s teams may not be worth £200m, but the Blues proved that matters little.
The difference maker was an investment from Serena Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, whose £20m investment [BBC Sport] has helped back up the club’s hefty valuation.
Should those teams find an investor willing to put a sizeable chunk of cash into their teams, and that likely wouldn’t be an issue, liberation from PSR’s rules would then follow.
Chelsea aren’t completely off the hook, as UEFA does not allow the same kind of sales to be registered on the books, but the Blues have escaped the most pressing issue of a points deduction domestically.
The Premier League have set a dangerous precedent by allowing this to happen and it would not be a huge surprise for clubs to delay the closing of the loophole for another year until they feel they have had a good chance to benefit in the same way as the West London side.