Exclusive: Premier League could make salary cap U-turn after stunning legal twist, Man City and Man United’s stances are clear
Premier League officials could be set to drop their proposal to bring in controversial new spending rules, sources have told Football Insider.
The Premier League is looking to impose a ‘salary cap’, with a vote scheduled to take place over the introduction of top-to-bottom anchoring rules (TBA) at the meeting of the 20 top-flight clubs on Friday (21 November).
Alongside the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Manchester City and Manchester United are against the adoption of the new system, which would run alongside the squad cost ratio (SCR) rules.
Football Insider revealed on 23 October the PFA could challenge the legality of the proposed rules if they were to come into effect.
Meanwhile, it has emerged three of the biggest football agencies in England – CAA Base, CAA Stellar and Key Sports Management – have threatened legal action if the Premier League presses ahead with its salary cap plans.
What rules do Premier League clubs currently operate under?
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.
Friday’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.
Finance expert Stefan Borson told Football Insider the spending cap for Premier League clubs would be around £600m under the proposed system.
Sources say there is now a strong chance the Premier League could decide to drop its vote on adopting the TBA rules at this point due to the threat of legal action.
However, a vote could still be taken on whether to introduce the SCR model even if anchoring is taken off the table, with a 14-club majority required for any motion to pass.
Man City and Man United ‘concerned’ ahead of salary cap vote
Football Insider revealed on 17 October Man City and Man United are “concerned” there are already too many financial restrictions in place ahead of the vote.
It isn’t just the Premier League’s rules that clubs are currently wary of breaching, with nine top-flight sides having 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 their revenue in 2024.
However, the control ratio dropped to 70 per cent in 2024-25 and will remain at that level moving forward.
There have been suggestions the Premier League could look to implement similar financial rules to Uefa given the clubs who qualify for Europe already have to comply with those regulations.