Which clubs transfers are being hauled in because of PSR rules this summer?

 

• Arsenal transfer targets reach 47. Nine players leaving (maybe)
• One example proves that buying more and more players leads to a decline in performance.

By Tony Attwood

PSR rules are “profit and sustainability rules” and they are the Premier League’s way of controlling some of the spending by clubs.   Certain spending is allowed, particularly on the ground and related facilities, but overall what the rules try to do is reduce the chance of clubs getting deeper and deeper into debt through trying to buy more and more players who will improve their league position.

These sorts of rules are at the heart of what we have now found out are as many as 125 complaints against Manchester City – complaints which are still not resolved in terms of what sort of punishment might be dished out.   When we consider that no clubs were charged for breaches in relation to the 2023/24 season we might reach the conclusion that either all the clubs took note of the rules, or that the rules were so weakened that everyone could meet the criteria and the whole point of the exercise was simply to get at Manchester City.

Basically PSR tells clubs that they can’t lose more than £105m over a three-year period on unallowable expenses, such as transfers.   However, there is the case of Leicester City, who previously took the League to court over charges against it. that club was able to show that the rules were badly written and thus they could escape punishment on the technicality of their having been relegated.

But once again Leicester City are one of a number of clubs who are being spoken of having broken the rules in 2024/25.   And the League tends not to like clubs that break rules, get punished and then do it again.

Now it is clear that the League has a habit of not writing its rules very well – as there seems to be nothing that can be done to stop Chelsea’s sale of its women’s team to a company owned by some of the same people who own Chelsea.   Undoubtedly that loophole will now be closed and Chelsea won’t be able to get away with that one again.   But some of these accountants are quite pesky fellows, and it won’t be surprising if Chelsea or maybe another couple of clubs come up with another way around the rules next season.

The good news for Arsenal is that they have no problems with all these technicalities and don’t have to find dodgy ways of getting around the rules.  Other clubs however do have worries but are generally looking to get around them by selling good players to Saudi Arabian clubs who are known to be willing to pay insane prices.  

Chelsea are thought now to have no such problems domestically, although Uefa have been muttering about the women’s club trick, and that might still come back to haunt the club.

Liverpool made a loss in 2023/24 but they are said to be ok concerning financial control which is far more than can be said about Manchester C.  Their problem is not just that they keep getting caught, but that they had managed to argue their way out of previous cases, most notoriously the 2020 ban, overcome because inexplicably Uefa put in its legal case too late.  No one has ever explained why but dubious issues have been suggested (but I must stress, we have no evidence).   However, now we see that they have spent £300m in the last half year.   We’re all waiting to see how they explain that.

Manchester United however have gone a different way by admitting they have over-spent what with losing £313m in the three years to 2023/24, which if nothing else, looks like carelessness when the limit is £105m.  If they don’t get slaughtered by the authorities there is going to be a rebellion among the clubs that do follow the rules, and a lot of arguing about how multi-club groups should be allowed to operate.  More on that below.  ManU’s issues however are different.  They are struggling with a lack of TV money.

Newcastle United have been spending money to get into the Champions League places,  and their best comment so far on the issue is that they are now “just about compliant.”  Maybe. 

Nottingham Forest have already been found guilty once but managed to get inside the limits by having a sale of players, which of course saw them fall down the league table.   Which brings us to Tottenham Hotspur.   They have said that “the club continues to comply with and support both Uefa and the Premier League Financial Fair Play criteria.”  And they suggest they have money to buy players – which given that that’s what they always do and that they continue to slip downwards, should give hope to everyone else.

This might seem strange to some, given that they reported £182m losses over the three years under consideration but maybe they have managed it and can afford to keep buying because of the money earned from the Europa League.

But there is one interesting side effect in all this which is not often mentioned.   Because of the need to keep finances under control, more and more clubs in the top league are letting players go on a free, just to get their salaries off the books.   Tottenham have done this with Eric Dier, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Tanguy Ndombélé and Japhet Tanganga.    And given that Ndombélé cost the club £55m one wonders if their problems are with their research and accountancy departments.

And of course, it is not only in England that the financial matters catch up with clubs.   Olympique Lyonnais EEFG.PA have been relegated to Ligue 2, following an audit of the club, confirming a ruling that was made at the end of last year.    The club has complained that it took note of the last ruling and is now compliant.    They are appealing.