PFA threatens to sue Premier League if new salary cap is introduced

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) are threatening to sue the Premier League if a new salary cap is introduced, per the Daily Mail .

English top-flight clubs are set to vote on anchoring, which would restrict the amount of money any side can spend on wages, agents and transfer fees to a multiple of the income by the bottom team.

The Premier League are planning to introduce anchoring alongside the squad cost ratio SCR) system to replace the existing profit and sustainability rules, which allows clubs to lose £105 million over a three-year period.

Manchester United and Manchester City are opposed to the new system, and now PFA have also expressed their disapproval.

The players’ union said in a statement: ‘We’ve been clear with the Premier League that it (the introduction of a salary cap via a ‘Top to Bottom Anchoring’ rule) is something we will oppose but the Premier League themselves know that, even before the PFA does this, there will be clubs within their own room who will legally challenge the measure.

‘The only ones who end up winning are the lawyers. We want to talk about football, we don’t want to talk about legal bills.

‘There are ways to engage on measures around financial sustainability, but this cannot be imposed unilaterally, it needs to be negotiated and there are mechanisms (to consult) that need to be respected.’

Critics believe the move would rob the Premier League of its status as the best in the world.

The new system would stop English clubs from paying wages similar to other elite teams, who would not have to comply with such rules.

This could lead to top footballers abandoning the league to join the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

The loss of star players would surely affect TV revenues, proving disastrous for the Premier League .

Some also fear anchoring would reduce clubs’ incentives to invest in growth as they would face restrictions in how much they could reinvest into their squads.

The new rules could also result in owners getting wealthier in the short term, because they would be limited in how much they would have to spend on wages.