Wed, March 11, 2026
UEFA expresses concerns surrounding the Premier League’s new financial rules under Squad Cost Ratio system
European football’s governing body, UEFA, has expressed concerns surrounding the Premier League’s new financial rules. Teams in the Premier League have voted for a new system called Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) starting from next season. SCR allows teams to spend 85% of their income on player costs, though clubs could go as high as 115% before points penalties are applied, according to BBC Sport. In comparison, UEFA’s limit is 70% which clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League must stick to.
Nine Premier League teams qualified for European competitions this season, six of them in the Champions League. All nine made it through to last 16 in the competitions.
The new SCR will result in Premier League clubs not in European leagues to have significantly higher spending power. Conversely, clubs in Europe with less spending power may have to take financial risks to keep players. Simply put, UEFA is concerned the new system ensures that even mid-table English clubs spend significantly more money than clubs in European leagues, making it harder for these European league clubs to attract and keep players.
However, the Premier League has argued the new system allows competitive balance. It says the 85% rule will “allow clubs that do not regularly participate in European competitions to have sufficient headroom to compete for qualification.” It also states that it allows “a club to plan and invest over multiple seasons.”
Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Masters, told BBC Sport that the clubs have chosen a system which “prioritises jeopardy in competition…
Independence of leagues, our ability to work out what's best for English football should be maintained.”
Conversely, UEFA’s Director of Financial Sustainability and Research, Andrea Traveso, stated at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit: “The Premier League alone now generates a quarter of all European club revenues…
With more spending power on top, this will create tensions in the market…
The objective at UEFA is financial sustainability. The objective at the Premier League is competitiveness…
40% of the top-value players in the world [are at English clubs] … But many are sitting on the bench or, even worse, in the stands … This is an extraordinary and worrying concentration of talent.”
La Liga president, Javier Tebas, voiced: “The [Premier League] regulations will cause more inflation and more problems…
Someone has to harmonise all of this. Financial fair play for La Liga, the Bundesliga, UEFA - this isn't rocket science.”
