PFA chief warns Premier League as clubs prepare for legal action amid financial restriction talks

Premier League clubs could take legal action against the league if it pushes through plans to introduce strict financial controls that would cap spending regardless of club revenue, according to the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).

Top-flight sides are due to vote on November 21 over whether to adopt a new “top-to-bottom anchoring” (TBA) system.

The proposal would limit how much any club can spend on player wages and transfers to no more than five times the amount of the lowest central broadcast and prize money payment in the division.

The plan has already faced resistance, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa among the clubs understood to have voted against pursuing the idea when it was last discussed in April 2023.

Critics – including the PFA – argue that the model effectively introduces a salary cap.

The players’ union has hired leading sports lawyer Nick De Marco KC, who previously defeated the EFL’s attempt to impose a salary cap in 2020, to represent its interests.

But PFA chief executive Maheta Molango warned that the real challenge could come from within the league itself.

Speaking to the BBC Molango said: “We have a tendency in football to think that we are above the law. The reality is that you cannot artificially cap someone’s ability to make a living as this would just not withstand any legal challenge.

“We’ve been clear with the Premier League that [anchoring] 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.”

Alongside the TBA proposal, clubs will also vote on a separate “squad cost ratio” (SCR) rule that would restrict spending on wages and transfer fees to 85% of total revenue.

A similar system is already used by UEFA in European competitions, where the limit is set at 70% of revenue.

At present, insiders say it is unclear which way the TBA vote will go. City, United and Villa are expected to oppose the proposal, while some clubs have expressed concern that the EFL could adopt a similar model in the Championship.

The prospect of footing legal bills if clubs decide to challenge the rule in court is also weighing on some executives’ minds.

As a result, clubs could opt to retain the current profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), which focus on losses over a rolling three-year period..