Premier League spending rules set to stay next season

The Premier League was founded in 1992

The Premier League's existing profitability and sustainability (PSR) rules are poised to be retained for next season following discussions by its member clubs at a shareholders' meeting.

It had been anticipated that clubs would adopt a new financial model for the 2025-26 campaign, but there will now be a delay to its implementation.

The clubs did not formally vote on replacing PSR with the squad cost ratio (SCR) system of financial control - which is currently being trialled alongside top to bottom anchoring rules (TBA) - but were instead asked for their views.

According to a source, almost all said they were happy with SCR, apart from one unnamed club who said they preferred PSR.

However there was disagreement over when SCR should be introduced. The debate was said to be positive and cordial.

PSR has been highly controversial. Premier League clubs Everton and Nottingham Forest were both docked points last season under the current system, which was introduced during the 2015-16 season.

The current rules allow Premier League clubs to post losses of £105m over a three-year reporting cycle.

The fact that the regulations have been extended by another season may worry several clubs and their supporters. Last month Manchester United wrote to fans to warn them that the club is at risk of breaching PSR, and ticket prices could rise as a result.

Last year Aston Villa's co-owner Nassef Sawiris said PSR rules "do not make sense" and protected the biggest clubs. He added that he was considering legal action against the rules.

Having been forced to offload players to comply, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe was also critical of PSR, saying it incentivised clubs to sell academy products.

Why has PSR been retained for 2025-26?

One of the factors behind the decision to delay is the uncertainty surrounding Manchester City's fresh legal challenge against the Premier League over new rules governing sponsorship deals which the club claims are "unlawful".

Last year, an independent arbitration panel found against aspects of the league's Associated Party Transaction regulations (APTs) after a lawsuit instigated by the champions.

The rules were formed by the Premier League to prevent clubs from profiting from commercial deals with companies linked to their owners that are deemed above "fair market value".

Other factors are the potential threat of legal action by the Professional Footballers' Association over any change to spending controls, and the unknown impact of a new independent football regulator.

The Football Governance Bill is currently making its way through the House of Lords before being debated by MPs in the Commons.

What are SCR and TBA?

The squad cost rules (SCR) and top to bottom anchoring rules (TBA) will operate alongside the existing PSR on a shadowing non-binding basis.

SCR are similar to Uefa's existing financial sustainability rules, in that they allow clubs to spend up to 85% of their total revenues on squad-related costs.

Meanwhile, the TBA is a model based which effectively caps the amount any club can spend as a multiple of the income earned by the league's bottom club.

The Premier League previously said the TBA is "designed to be a pre-emptive measure to protect the competitive balance of the Premier League".