Premier League set to vote on potential 'salary cap' with arch-rivals Manchester United and Manchester City poised to oppose plan

The Times reports on how arch-rivals from Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium have expressed concerns regarding the introduction of regulations that would restrict Premier League clubs to spending five times what they generate from prize money and broadcast revenue on wages and transfers.

Said proposals were first revealed in March 2024, with a poll taken at the time. It is claimed 16 voted in favour, with City, United and Aston Villa opposing the plan while Chelsea abstained. Concerns are said to have been raised regarding the negative impact that such rules would have on the Premier League’s ability to retain its status as “the strongest domestic competition in Europe”.

Teams on the continent are already governed by UEFA’s “squad cost ratio” rules, which aim to reduce spending to 70 per cent of revenue. The Premier League’s proposal would set that bar at 85 per cent, with the anchoring plan running alongside.

Clubs in England already operate under Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) which allow clubs to post losses of £105 million ($141m) across a three-year timespan. A meeting in November will reportedly address the issues of “squad cost ratio rules, anchoring and sustainability rules linked to football’s new independent regulator”.

An insider has told The Times: “If we bring in these anchoring rules, it could dramatically affect the Premier League’s ability to attract the world’s best players. How can that be in the best interest of English football?”

It is suggested that if the anchoring rules were to be introduced, then some teams would immediately be in breach of them - given estimated spending figures. It is reported that sanctions would include “a minimum six-point deduction plus a point for every £6.5million of overspend”.

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is said to be considering legal action if anchoring is introduced, due to the impact said regulations would have on player wages. The Premier League already finds itself caught up in several legal battles.

Those voting in favour of the reforms have been warned that they risk seriously undermining the competitiveness of English top-flight football. Another source told The Times: “Many clubs don’t have a particularly strong view on this issue because they don’t think it will affect them given their current spending levels. It feels like we are actually sleepwalking into this.”

The clubs in question are said to believe that the rules will actually make the Premier League more competitive, as they help to level the playing field somewhat, ensuring that the division remains attractive to broadcasters in multibillion-pound deals.

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is among those to disagree, as the Red Devils draw up plans for a new 100,000-seater stadium that will help to push their revenue figures ever higher. He has said: “The last thing you want is for the top clubs in the Premier League not to be able to compete with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG - that’s absurd. And if it does, it then ceases to be the finest league in the world.”

Everton and Nottingham Forest are among the clubs to have been stung with PSR punishments, having faced point deductions, while Manchester City remain locked in a 115-charge Financial Fair Play case.

A final ruling in that long-running saga is said to be close, with an independent hearing having concluded late in 2024, but City could drag it out even further if appeals are lodged against any punishments. Various sanctions - ranging from point deductions, transfer embargoes and even expulsion from the top tier of English football - have been mooted over the course of the last two-and-a-half years.