Premier League clubs vote to introduce new financial system, caps spending at 85% of revenue | OneFootball

Premier League clubs have voted to introduce a new financial system that will reshape spending rules from the start of the 2026-27 season.

The decision was reached at a shareholders’ meeting in London on Friday, where clubs considered three proposals aimed at replacing the current Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

The headline outcome is the approval of the Squad Cost Ratio, which passed with the minimum threshold of 14 votes to six. This measure will limit clubs to spending no more than 85 per cent of their football revenue and net profit or loss on player sales on wages, transfer fees and agent costs.

Clubs may exceed that limit by up to 30 per cent through a multi-year allowance, although doing so will trigger a levy and full compliance with the 85 per cent limit will be required once the allowance is used up.

The Premier League said the new model brings its framework closer to UEFA’s existing SCR rules, which cap spending at 70 per cent for clubs in European competitions.

The league added that the system provides greater transparency during the season, includes in-season monitoring and sanctions and reduces administrative complexity by focusing solely on football costs.

Clubs also unanimously passed the Sustainability and Systemic Resilience rules. These measures assess the financial health of each club through three tests known as the Working Capital Test, the Liquidity Test and the Positive Equity Test.

The aim is to ensure that clubs can manage short-term obligations, withstand fluctuations in revenue and maintain long-term financial stability.

The rejected proposal was Top to Bottom Anchoring, which would have imposed a single spending ceiling for all 20 clubs based on five times the revenue earned by the team finishing bottom of the league. Only seven clubs voted in favour, with 12 against and one abstention.

The model would have created a variable cap similar in effect to a salary-cap system and had drawn concern from the Professional Footballers’ Association. It is understood the league could have faced legal action from players had anchoring been approved.

Friday’s vote marks the end of the current PSR era, which limits clubs to a maximum loss of £105 million over three years and will remain in place until the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

The league said the new structure is the result of an 18-month consultation process involving clubs, financial and legal advisers and external bodies, including the PFA and football agents.