Following my [recent article](https://www.claretandhugh.info/west-ham-massively-disadvantaged-hammes-not-playing-transfer-loophole/) on the women’s team loophole around PSR – an option Aston Villa utilised yesterday by selling 10% to an external investor and 90% to one of their holding companies to remain compliant, the club must now address its wage-to-revenue ratio following productive discussions with UEFA.
Villa’s reported annual wage bill last season stood at £131m, though this figure was significantly inflated due to the loan signing of Marcus Rashford.
In comparison, West Ham, last season had a wage bill of just shy of £102m, excluding bonuses (source: Capology). To put this into perspective Newcastle United who secured a Champions League place recorded a lower total wage bill of £96m.
Nottingham Forest have been shrewd in their transfer dealings, since being docked points due to PSR breaches and came in at a modest £58m a year, excluding bonuses.
Overall, West Ham had the eighth highest wage bill in the Premier League – resulting in a 14th place finish!
West Ham have already made moves to reduce costs having moved on a number of players saving a projected £14m. However last summers spending spree of £155m added an additional £31.5m to the wage bill over the course of the season. There was however a turnover of 21 players, so £21m was removed from the wage bill following the departure of Phillips, Kehrer, Benrahma, Downes, Johnson, Ogbonna, Trott, Anang and Mubama.
The club is expected to continue trimming their wage bill, potentially moving on high earners such as Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta. Off loading both could reportedly save them around £12.5m a season in wages.
Other notable top earners include Guido Rodriguez, James Ward Prowse, Emerson, Edson Alvarez and Niclas Fullkrug.
Nice work if you can get it!
The club faces a crucial summer of balancing competitiveness with compliance, as the wages / income ratio rules are something of a ticking time bomb – new regulations (SCR) are coming into play next summer.