Premier League clubs will gather on Friday for a shareholder meeting where three financial proposals, including a controversial salary cap, will be put to a vote. The proposals come a decade after the current profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) were introduced, a system that has faced criticism and resulted in points deductions for Nottingham Forest and Everton.
The three proposals are known as top-to-bottom anchoring, squad cost rules (SCR) and sustainability and system resilience (SSR). SCR mirrors UEFA regulations that restrict spending on player costs as a percentage of revenue, while SSR is designed to ensure clubs meet both short and long-term financial commitments. Anchoring is the most contentious, as it would limit spending on wages and transfer amortisation to five times the amount distributed to the league's poorest club.
Under anchoring, all 20 clubs would face the same ceiling, effectively creating a wage cap that could only rise with overall Premier League revenue. Passing the measure requires 14 of the 20 clubs to vote in favour, but support is not unanimous. Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal are expected to vote against anchoring, while Liverpool, Aston Villa, Everton, Sunderland and Burnley are tipped to back all three proposals.
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has publicly opposed anchoring, saying: "It 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." Reports suggest as many as eight clubs hold reservations about the changes.
Other clubs, including Brentford, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, may be affected differently by squad cost rules due to their reliance on transfer market activity to generate revenue, leaving their stance unclear. The outcome of Friday's vote will shape the financial landscape of English football, though it could also open the door to legal challenges.
