Exclusive: Man City and Man United ‘concerned’ ahead of Premier League’s salary cap vote
Manchester City and Manchester United are “concerned” ahead of a vote over the implementation of new rules due to the amount of financial restrictions already in place, sources have told Football Insider.
The finances of Premier League clubs have been a hot topic of debate over the past couple of years after some teams have exploited loopholes to avoid potential penalties, while others have landed points deductions.
The Premier League is looking to impose a salary cap, with a vote set to take place over the introduction of top-to-bottom anchoring rules (TBA) at the next meeting of the 20 top-flight clubs on 21 November.
Man City and Man United are against the adoption of the new system, which would run alongside the new squad cost ratio (SCR) rules.
Sources have told Football Insider some Premier League sides, including Man City and Man United, are “concerned” there are already too many financial restrictions in place.
Executives warn new rules could ‘destroy’ Premier League
The Daily Mail reported on Wednesday (15 October) some executives believe the proposed rules would “destroy” the Premier League and make it harder for promoted sides to compete.
Premier League clubs currently operate under the profit and sustainability rules (PSR), where they are only permitted to make £105million of losses over a rolling three-year period.
Next month’s vote will decide whether the top-flight sides adopt either – or both – of the TBA and SCR models, replacing the PSR rules.
Under the TBA rules, clubs can only spend five times the amount the bottom side receives on squad-related costs, such as wages, agents’ fees and amortisation.
Sources say that figure would be somewhere between £550-600m, placing only the Premier League’s biggest spenders at risk of breaching the rules.
Arsenal ‘close’ to financial rule breach
It isn’t just the Premier League’s rules that clubs are currently wary of breaching.
Nine top-flight sides have to comply with Uefa’s spending rules this season after qualifying for Europe.
Uefa confirmed in July both Chelsea and Aston Villa had breached its financial rules.
Chelsea were fined £26.7m and could be fined a further £51.2m if they don’t comply with the governing body’s rules in the next four years.
Meanwhile, Villa were fined £9.5m, with the potential of a further £12.9m penalty if they fail to comply in a three-year period.
The punishments related to a breach of Uefa’s football earnings regulations and its SCR rules, where clubs in European competitions were required to keep spending on player wages and fees to 80 per cent of revenue in 2024.
However, the control ratio dropped to 70 per cent in 2024-25 and will remain at that level moving forward, with Arsenal “close” to breaching Uefa’s rules following their heavy summer spending.
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