Premier League clubs split over salary cap proposals | OneFootball

The Premier League is facing deep divisions among its clubs over radical new spending restrictions, as the league edges closer to a pivotal vote on financial regulation reform next month, BBC Sport reports.

At the centre of the dispute is the proposed Top-to-Bottom Anchoring (TBA) model, a salary cap that would limit a club’s total expenditure on wages, transfers, and agent fees to five times the broadcasting and prize money earned by the league’s bottom-placed side. Under the system, spending would be capped regardless of a club’s revenue.

The TBA proposal is being considered alongside a Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) model, which would allow clubs to spend a fixed percentage of their income, reportedly up to 85%, on squad-related costs. UEFA currently enforces a stricter 70% cap for clubs in European competition, prompting calls for regulatory alignment.

However, several top clubs, including Manchester City, Manchester United, and Aston Villa, remain staunchly opposed to anchoring. They argue it would hinder the league’s elite from competing financially with Europe’s biggest sides, such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain, who are bound only by UEFA’s SCR limits. United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has dismissed the plan as “absurd,” claiming it would “inhibit the top clubs in the Premier League.”

By contrast, smaller clubs see the proposals as essential to safeguarding competitive balance and curbing financial inequality, particularly amid growing concerns over revenues from the expanded Club World Cup and European competitions disproportionately benefiting the elite.

Sources suggest the Premier League is considering points deductions for clubs that breach spending caps, a measure reminiscent of the sanctions handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest for Profit and Sustainability Rule (PSR) violations.

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has also voiced strong opposition, warning that TBA could unlawfully interfere with player contracts. The union has already retained sports lawyer Nick De Marco as it weighs potential legal action, recalling its successful 2021 challenge against the EFL’s lower-league salary caps.

GFN | Finn Entwistle