Newcastle United will have their say when Premier League clubs meet to discuss changes to the top-flight’s profit and sustainability rules this week
The proposed transfer by the Premier League to UEFA’s squad cost criteria would “lock in the existing differences” between Newcastle United and Manchester City.
As premier league officials convene this week to deliberate modifications to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability policies, football finance specialist Kieran Maguire holds that opinion. Although clubs may now lose up to £105 million over a three-year period, Premier League CEO Richard Masters has acknowledged that ‘proposals out for consultation’ have been made about a closer alignment with the UEFA system.
Newcastle has already begun to approach the 70% mark, which will be the final cap on wages, trades, and agency fees in 2025–2026 according to UEFA’s squad cost regulation. This is because Newcastle has already participated in the Champions League this season. It makes sense, according to senior authorities at St James’ Park, for the Premier League to play each other.
As previously noted by Maguire, ambitious teams such as Newcastle, which came into existence following the initial regulations of the Premier League’s introduction in 2013, have been particularly badly impacted because the allowable losses have not increased to keep up with inflation. But even if a consensus is reached on the new regulations, closing the elite gap will remain extremely difficult in the coming years.
According to Maguire, “a club will essentially have a wage cap” on BBC Radio 5 Live. “Player salaries, agency fees, and net transfer expenses combined cannot exceed 70% of revenue. Should that is the case, it will solidify the current divisions amongst teams.
“A club like Manchester City would have a maximum salary cost of £498 million if their revenue were £712 million. Newcastle brought in £250 million in income under its new, highly ambitious owners. A ceiling of £175 million would be placed on their pay.