Premier League clubs are set to vote on three new financial proposals at the latest shareholder meeting on Friday, with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City expected to vote against anchoring
The Premier League logo on a flag during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Brentford FC at Villa Park.
Premier League clubs will vote on financial rules today(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA, Getty Images)
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The Premier League is considering significant alterations to the financial structure of the division during the upcoming shareholder meeting, with representatives from all 20 clubs set to cast their votes on three crucial proposals today.
It's been a decade since the league implemented financial measures, with the latest model, profit and sustainability (PSR), attracting a fair share of criticism.
Under the current system, Premier League clubs are permitted to incur losses of up to £105million over a three-year span, although some clubs have discovered loopholes in this system. Others have faced penalties, such as Nottingham Forest's points deduction in 2024 or Everton's points deduction in 2023.
Consequently, three new proposals have been put forward that could drastically alter the landscape of the Premier League, depending on how each club votes. The proposed changes are known as top-to-bottom anchoring (or simply anchoring), squad cost rules (SCR), and sustainability and system resilience (SSR).
SCR is a system already utilised for UEFA competitions, where a percentage of revenue can be allocated to player expenses, while SSR is a rule designed to ensure that short-term and long-term financial commitments can be fulfilled. Anchoring is the final and most contentious proposal.
Anchoring sets a limit on how much a football club can spend on wages and amortisation from transfer fees, based on the least wealthy club in the division. The cap is then five times the amount distributed to the poorest club in the division, effectively setting a spending limit for all 20 clubs, reports the Mirror.
In essence, it introduces a sort of wage cap on the division, allowing growth only in line with the revenue generated by the Premier League as a whole. This proposal has been met with both support and criticism, with potential legal disputes if it is implemented.
For these measures to be approved, 14 out of the 20 clubs would need to vote in favour, leading to some significant decisions about how it affects each member and their position. As such, there could be some disagreement over whether anchoring will be implemented.
It's believed that Manchester United and Manchester City are opposed to the proposal. According to The Athletic, Arsenal are also expected to vote against anchoring but could vote for SCR if the previous proposal is rejected.
The report suggests that champions Liverpool; Aston Villa, Everton, Sunderland and Burnley are likely to support all three proposals.
The primary concern from the division's larger clubs regarding anchoring centres on it being an extra restriction that limits their expenditure, alongside existing squad cost regulations they must already follow in UEFA tournaments. Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe expressed his position clearly when discussing the proposals with Bloomberg in 2024.
He stated: "(Anchoring) would inhibit the top clubs in the Premier League, and 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."
The Times revealed that up to eight Premier League sides harbour concerns about altering the financial regulations at today's shareholder gathering. With eight teams already anticipated to vote in a particular manner on anchoring, this leaves the remaining 12 undecided going into the meeting.
Meanwhile, SCR could affect clubs like Brentford, Bournemouth, and Crystal Palace given their current approach of using the transfer market to create income, which might suggest their stance on the proposal, although it remains uncertain precisely how they will vote on all three measures, including the divisive anchoring suggestion. This is just the latest hurdle for the Premier League in managing the enormous wealth it has amassed from becoming one of the most-watched leagues globally.
Now, the ball is in the court of the clubs to decide their stance on the latest proposals.
Today's vote could shed light on the future of English football and the trajectory of the top flight, but it could also sow further uncertainty about what lies ahead.