UEFA want to introduce a cap on the amount clubs can spend on transfers and wages in a single season, amid fears over the financial dominance of English clubs.
The governing body is working on a new proposal for European football, given concerns that English clubs will become even more dominant under UEFA’s new Financial Sustainability Regulations (FSR), which from this year will restrict clubs’ spending to a percentage of their annual revenue.
The Premier League is currently home to six of the 10 richest clubs in European football and 16 of the top 30. England’s leading sides spent record-breaking sums during the 2022/23 season, with a combined outlay of £2.8bn, surpassing the previous landmark of £1.9bn spent in 2017/18.
In January, La Liga president Javier Tabas called the Premier League a ‘doped market’ after English clubs spent £815m in the winter window, almost double the previous high for a January transfer window. Chelsea alone outspent the combined total of all clubs in Europe’s other ‘big five’ leagues.
According to the Times, UEFA’s leaders are favouring a move to a spending cap. A fixed figure would be imposed as a cap that clubs can spend on wages, transfers and agents’ fee, while transfer fees will be assessed on amortisation up to a maximum contract length of five years.
No figure for the cap has been discussed, but if approved clubs will not be able to spend more than the limit, even if it was within the FSR regulations of 70% of the club’s total revenue.
