Pep Guardiola issues response to Premier League salary cap claims | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has responded to claims that the Premier League’s clubs could soon vote on a possible salary cap introduction to the division.

The debate surrounding financial reform in English football has intensified in recent weeks, as Premier League clubs prepare for a crucial vote on whether to introduce a salary cap across the division.

The proposed model – known as “top-to-bottom anchoring” – would limit how much any club can spend on player wages, transfer fees, and agent costs based on the income of the league’s lowest-earning side, as part of a broader discussion on financial sustainability and competitiveness in the English top flight.

Proponents of the concept argue it would prevent financial disparity from widening between the Premier League’s richest and poorest clubs, while critics – including some of England’s biggest sides – fear it would leave them at a disadvantage in Europe.

Under UEFA’s financial controls, clubs can already spend up to 70 per cent of their revenue on squad-related costs, and the Premier League’s proposed system could be more restrictive for those consistently competing in elite continental tournaments such as Manchester City and Real Madrid.

For clubs at the very top, such as City, the implications could be significant with the Premier League’s bottom club in 2023/24 having earned roughly £110 million from broadcast and prize money, meaning a five-times spending limit would cap total outlay at £550 million for the entire league. By comparison, City’s total revenue for that same season was £715 million.

Speaking to reporters during a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on talk of Premier League clubs soon voting on the introduction of a potential salary cap format into the division – beginning as soon as later this year.

“For the managers as well? *laughs* Hopefully not,” Guardiola jokingly responded.

“I have a vague opinion about that. I didn’t speak with my CEO Ferran [Soriano]. We’ll have to wait and I think what the clubs will decide, at the end it will be fine,” he continued.

“And every decision and every rule that happens – when your colleague asked me about Jack [Grealish] playing or not playing, the loan players and so on – always there are positives and negatives. So we will see.

“I think Premier League always will be a strong league, in many things it’s the best and other things can be better. So what they decide the clubs, it will be fine because they decide. And we will see.”

Pep Guardiola’s measured response reflects a wider sentiment among top Premier League clubs, who are waiting to see how discussions evolve in the weeks leading up to the official vote on 21 November.

The City boss has historically supported fair competition but has also been vocal about ensuring English teams remain competitive on the European stage; a stance consistent with reports that City, Manchester United, and Aston Villa voted against the anchoring system.

Should the salary cap proposal pass, it would represent one of the most significant structural changes to Premier League regulation in decades, potentially influencing transfer strategies, wage structures, and even player recruitment.

For Pep Guardiola and City, who are known to operate with one of the most sophisticated financial and football infrastructures in world sport, the focus remains on adapting to whatever comes next, while ensuring the club’s long-term strategy continues to align with its ambitions both domestically and in Europe.