The English clubs Premier League have agreed on new financial regulations. From next season, clubs will be allowed to spend a maximum of 85 percent of their income on the player squad.
As the Premier League announced on Friday (November 21, 2025), new financial regulations will be introduced from the coming 2026/27 season, which will replace the previously applicable set of rules, the so-called Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR)” will replace.
The core of the new rules will be “Squad Cost Ratio” (SCR), according to which expenses for salaries of players, head coaches, transfers and consultant commissions are limited to a maximum of 85 percent of the total operating income from the football business per season.
14 out of 20 Premier League clubs vote for new financial rules
As the BBC reported that 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs voted for the introduction of the new squad cost ratio – including all top clubs. Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Leeds According to BBC information, voted against changing the financial rules.
At the same time, the agreed spending rate falls short of UEFA’s restrictions. According to the European association’s guidelines, clubs are not allowed to spend more than 70 percent of their football-related income on the squad, this also applies to the nine English clubs that compete in international competitions.
With the reform, the Premier League is moving closer to the UEFA financial system, it said in a statement. The higher spending limit primarily serves to strengthen competitiveness: all clubs should be given the opportunity to continue to grow. The new rules offer “protection against underperformance” and the opportunity to make investments.
Protective umbrella for rich English clubs
This expressly includes expenses that go beyond current income, as the statement said. That’s why the new rules also allow the spending maximum to be exceeded by up to 30 percent – only above this limit will clubs be sanctioned with a deduction of six points. Below 115 percent, the financial regulators are content with fines – this regulation acts like a protective shield for the very rich English clubs.
A more extensive spending restriction, which was also up for vote, was rejected by the clubs: the so-called “Top to bottom anchoring” stipulated an absolute upper limit, meaning that the expenditure for the squad could have been a maximum of five times as high as the income that the bottom team in the table received from TV marketing. According to media reports, large consulting agencies, as well as the professional footballers’ association, were against these plans (PFA) opposed, they apparently feared a “Salary cap” through the back door.
Penalties against Chelsea, among others
According to the Financial Fair Play rules that previously applied in the Premier League, all of a club’s income and expenses were compared, not just the costs for the player squad. The calculation was not made per season, but over a three-year period. This always gave the clubs scope to improve their balance sheet. Chelsea, for example, signed unusually long contracts with players in order to reduce annual expenses. Everton was also punished for financial violations.
Here too, the new rules promise more transparency, with a set annual monitoring every March in order to enable sanctions during the current season.