Mirror: Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal oppose Premier League salary cap, Liverpool, Villa, Everton support new rules

The Mirror reported on November 21 that the Premier League may make major reforms to its financial structure at the latest shareholder meeting. Representatives of 20 clubs will vote on three key proposals on Friday.

It has been 10 years since the league introduced financial measures, and the recent Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) model has received a lot of criticism. The current system allows Premier League clubs to lose up to £105m over three years, but some clubs have found ways to circumvent the system. Other clubs have been punished, such as Nottingham Forest in 2024 or Everton in 2023. As a result, three new proposals have been put forward that could significantly change the Premier League landscape depending on the results of individual clubs' votes. The proposals are called Top-Down Anchoring (anchoring for short), Team Cost Rule (SCR) and Sustainability and System Resilience (SSR).

SCR has been implemented in UEFA competitions and stipulates the proportion of revenue that can be used for player fees; while SSR ensures that short-term and long-term financial commitments can be met. Anchoring is the most controversial one. The anchor limits how much clubs spend on wages and transfer fee amortization, with the limit based on the poorest club in the league. Specifically, this limit is five times the amount allocated to the poorest clubs, thus setting the same spending cap for all 20 clubs.

This effectively sets a salary cap for the entire league, which is only allowed to grow with the growth of the Premier League's overall revenue. The proposal has met with support and skepticism and could trigger legal battles if passed. 14 clubs will need to vote in favor to pass the measures, with each member facing major decisions on how to affect their own interests. Therefore, especially on anchor proposals, some conflicts may arise.

Manchester United and Manchester City are believed to be opposed to the proposal, and "The Athletic" reports that Arsenal may also vote against anchoring, but if the previous proposal is rejected, they may support SCR. Liverpool, Aston Villa, Everton, Sunderland and Burnley are expected to back all three proposals, according to the report. The main argument given by the big clubs against anchoring is that it is an additional spending restriction on top of the team cost rules they already abide by in UEFA competitions.

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe made this point clear in an interview with Bloomberg in 2024. He said: "Anchoring will inhibit the development of the top clubs in the Premier League. The last thing you want to see is that the top clubs in the Premier League cannot compete with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain competing - this is ridiculous. If this happens, the Premier League will no longer be the best league in the world."

The Times reported that at a shareholder meeting on Friday, as many as eight Premier League clubs expressed reservations about the changes to financial rules. Eight teams are already expected to vote specifically on the anchor proposal, with the stance of the remaining 12 clubs still unclear.

On the other hand, the SCR is likely to impact clubs such as Brentford, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace due to the way they currently use the transfer market to generate revenue, which may hint at their views on the proposals, but it is not clear where they vote on all three proposals, including the controversial anchoring proposal.

This is the Premier League's latest challenge to the fortunes it has generated as one of the world's most watched leagues. The decision now rests with individual clubs to see how they will deal with these latest proposals. Friday's vote could bring clarity to the future of English football and the direction of the top flight, but it could also spark more confusion about where to go next.