Premier League vote and 49ers Enterprises' Leeds United wiggle room revealed — YEP 29/4/24
As Leeds United’s battle to automatically rejoin the Premier League enters its final week, the majority of current top tier clubs have reportedly voted in favour of proposals for a spending cap.
By Graham Smyth
As Leeds United’s battle to automatically rejoin the Premier
League enters its final week, the majority of current top tier clubs have
reportedly voted in favour of proposals for a spending cap.
According to The Times, top flight clubs have agreed in
principle to the spending cap on player wages, amortised transfer sums and
agent fees, which would be anchored to a multiple of broadcast and centralised
commercial earnings dished out to the league’s bottom side. The Times suggests
that Manchester City, Manchester United and Aston Villa voted against the
proposal, while Chelsea abstained. A total of 14 votes in favour was needed to
take the issue on to the AGM.
Concerns over a lack of competitive nature in the Premier
League and the gulf in financial might between the top clubs and the bottom is
at the heart of a desire to curb spending. There has been talk of the multiple
being set as four and a half or five times the broadcast revenue of the lowest
earner in the Premier League. Based on last season’s financial information and
the £103.6m earned by Southampton from TV and commercial deals, a multiple of
five would give the division a spending cap of £518m. Football finance expert
Kieran Maguire suggests that a multiple of five would mean only Chelsea, of
last season’s Premier League clubs, would have to cut spending. Leeds would
have had wiggle room of £292m according to Maguire’s calculations.
Leeds’ recently published accounts for the 2022/23 period
revealed a pre-tax loss of £34m, with an £11m rise in revenue and £73m in
profit from player sales. There was, however, a growth in operating costs of
£72m from the previous set of accounts as the wage bill increased dramatically.
Since the accounting period Leeds have been bought out by 49ers Enterprises,
who have yet been able to show their financial might due to the Championship's
profit and sustainability regulations. Promotion to the top flight, which still
hangs in the balance going into Saturday's final game against Southampton,
would grant Leeds access to the considerable riches available to the country's
top 20 clubs and also permit the ownership group to invest more heavily in the
playing squad.
The Whites sit second in the table on 90 points behind
Leicester City, whom they now cannot catch, with third-placed Ipswich Town able
to rejoin the automatic promotion spots in midweek thanks to their game in hand
against Coventry City.
