Premier League clubs could soon have their wings clipped by UEFA as the authority moves to cap high spending in European football.
England's top flight is currently way ahead of the rest in terms of the annual money dished out on transfer fees and player wages, a factor that has been reflected in Champions League performances in recent years. Back in 2019/19, Liverpool beat Spurs to lift European football's most coveted silverware, with Chelsea prevailing against Man City two years later in another all-England final.
And on June 10, City can become the third Premier League side in five seasons to capture the silverware, if they can beat Inter Milan. Uefa’s new Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR) will also come into play this tear to restrict clubs’ spending to a percentage of their annual revenue, a move which many fear could further strengthen City and co.
Under the new regulations, European clubs will be restricted to spending 90 percent of revenues on fees and salaries in 2023. that figure will then be lowered to 80 percent in 2024, and drop further to 70 percent in 2025.
But now UEFA are also calling for a fixed cap on the amount a club can splash out on new signings and weekly wages during a season. And according a report in The Times, the governing body is preparing a proposal to be presented to the European Union.
The transfer cost will be calculated via the fee paid, then spread out over the duration of the contract signed up to a maximum of five years. PSG chief Nasser al-Khelaifi, who also serves as President of the European Club Association (ECA), is said to be in favour of the proposals despite his own club's extortionate spending.
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A working group, compromising representatives from UEFA, the ECA, the European Leagues and Fifpro, are currently assessing the potential impact of the plans. And the news comes just weeks after UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin told US media that "in the future we have to seriously think about a salary cap."
The Slovenia also suggested that he was concerned about Europe's elite tournaments becoming too predictable" "It’s not about the owners, it’s about the value of the competition, because if five clubs will always win then it doesn’t make sense any more."
As it stands, 16 of the continent's top 20 richest club ply their trade in England, with City, Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal all inside the top-10. And their financial power has inevitably ramped up player valuations and contract demands, with the Premier League now globally perceived as the most lucrative in the world.
