Sports
Premier League Rule Change Could Impact 3 Teams Most
Last month, Premier League clubs voted 14 to six to overhaul the current financial rules that exist in English football’s top flight.
Profit and sustainability regulations (PSR), while a relative unknown in the game in this country for the best part of a decade since they were introduced in the wake of the near collapse of Portsmouth in 2009, had become part of the football fan vernacular in more recent years.
The £105m sum that was allowed to be lost over a three-year period under PSR rules, with allowable deductions for such things as depreciation, investment in infrastructure, the women’s team, the academy and community initiatives, hasn’t budged over the last 15 years or so, but the financial landscape of the English game has almost changed beyond recognition.
Points deductions
Wages and transfer fees have risen exponentially over that time, and while a major uptick in the value of broadcast rights enabled clubs to spend more in the Premier League, it wasn’t enough to stop Everton (twice), and Nottingham Forest being landed with points deductions for breaching the regulations in recent seasons.
PSR has also impacted clubs who wish to be upwardly mobile, such as Newcastle United and Aston Villa, with both teams unable to invest to the levels their enormously wealthy respective ownership groups would want to see despite upsetting the balance of the well-established ‘big six’ and earning qualification for the Champions League.
The punishments, aligned with the challenges it even started to present to clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester United, as well as the perception that the handbrake was well and truly being applied to stop clubs from wanting to be ambitious, led to the call for change, but it was only last month that a consensus was reached on what new regulation should look like.
New regulations
From 2026/27, PSR will be replaced by the squad cost ratio (SCR) and sustainability and systematic resilience (SSR) regulations, with the former keeping the Premier League more broadly in line with the financial controls that UEFA have in place, and that any English club competing in Europe must abide by, albeit with far more leeway.
The aim of the new Premier League regulation around SCR is to measure how much of a club’s adjusted revenue is spent on its first-team squad, covering wages, head coach salaries, amortisation, and agents’ fees. Adjusted revenue includes matchday, broadcast, and commercial income, plus profits from player sales and stadium events, while excluding asset sales. By focusing only on squad-related costs, the regulation seeks to create a clearer picture of financial sustainability.
The intention is for clubs to keep their SCR below 85% of adjusted revenue, known as the ‘Green Threshold’. However, clubs are permitted to stretch spending up to 115% (the Red Threshold) by using an additional 30% allowance, though this comes with a levy. Going beyond the Red Threshold could result in sporting sanctions, making it a hard ceiling on spending.
The broader purpose of allowing flexibility above 85% is to give clubs room to invest ahead of anticipated revenue growth and to provide a buffer against underperformance or forecast variance. In theory, this system is designed to balance financial discipline with the realities of football’s unpredictability, encouraging responsible investment while maintaining competitive balance.
Clubs that participate in a UEFA competition will be subject to lower limits, as they benefit from higher revenue, especially in the case of those clubs who benefit from Champions League qualification. As a result, their Green Threshold is only 70%, while the Red Threshold is 100%.
The biggest impact
a flag during the Pre Season Friendly match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on August 04, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
The SSR, which was passed unanimously by members, with little in the way of problems expected by member clubs, will be carried out through a Working Capital Test, Liquidity Test and Positive Equity Test to assess a club’s short, medium and long-term financial health.
Of the 20 member clubs in the Premier League, the six to vote against adopting SCR were Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Leeds United.
Of those six clubs, three of them have, using the most recent publicly available financial information, the highest squad cost ratios among the Premier League’s 20 clubs, well past the UEFA threshold of 70%, and beyond the Premier League’s Green Threshold. None are beyond the Red Threshold.
In terms of who can expect to be most negatively impacted by the new rules, at least in the short term, then there are already some clues to be found.
Chelsea and Aston Villa were both handed significant fines during the summer for breaching UEFA cost controls. One of the chief reasons for that was that UEFA did not allow the sale of assets such as hotels or the women’s teams to be included in their calculations. That now applies to the Premier League and SCR, meaning the days of selling assets to related third party holding companies to realise a paper profit are now long gone. Both clubs would have failed SCR on that basis.
Clubs such as Newcastle will also find that the introduction of new rules does little to improve their ability to what the owners, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), had envisaged doing when they acquired the club back in 2021, which was to challenge for the Premier League title over time.
While the club has qualified for the Champions League twice under the PIF ownership they have been unable to make meaningful ground on the biggest clubs in terms of revenue, something that would allow them to spend more. Newcastle’s squad cost ratio estimate using 2023/24 figures comes in at around 78%.
Budget leaders
It is even more stark when considering the SCR budget for Premier League clubs.
According to figures presented by football finance expert Swiss Ramble, the club with the largest SCR budget, using the most recently available financial figures, would, perhaps surprisingly, be Manchester United at £597m, followed by Manchester City at £580m and Liverpool and Arsenal both on £449m.
Newcastle are way back. In fact, the Magpies sit ninth when it comes to SCR budget based on 2023/24 figures, although that will be improved significantly this season thanks to their participation in the Champions League. Above them in the list was West Ham United and Brighton. Aston Villa, another club who had a Champions League campaign that hasn’t been factored into this particular list, sat at 10th on the list with an SCR budget of £240m.
The rules will further encourage revenue generation, which will mean that more clubs, especially those outside of the ‘big six’, will be seeking new ways to boost the money that comes into the football club. But it will likely do little to address the financial chasm that exists between the biggest clubs and the rest, at least in the medium term.
Donald Trump’s involvement in the lead up to 2026 World Cup caused a myriad of problems, with the controversial US President’s actions in the months before the tournament sparking calls for major ‘boycotts’. It’s not the first time he’s irked anyone involved in world football, either.
The 80-year-old placed several nations that qualified for the 2026 World Cup on his travel ban list: Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. While occupants from several other countries, including Brazil, faced major problems getting into the United States.
FIFA Urged to Move 2026 World Cup From USA to UK Following Donald Trump Threats
The legendary British broadcaster has voiced his support for the World Cup to be moved closer to home amid rising political tension.
Trump has always been a fan of banning people from entering the United States of America, even dating back to his first presidential term, which lasted from 2017 to 2021. In fact, one of the greatest footballers in history, Diego Maradona, was denied entry into the country due to Trump.
Diego Maradona’s Insult to Trump Landed Him in Hot Water
Maradona, who won the World Cup in 1986, claimed he wasn’t allowed to set foot in America after he insulted Trump in a live TV appearance.
Speaking in 2018, the late icon’s lawyer, Matias Morla, explained what had happened. Morla told Argentine TV show ”Buenos días America’ (per The Mirror):
“You can imagine, I was in the embassy and I said, ‘Diego, please don’t talk about the United States. Because the interview was with TeleSur and I know how these things go.
“And the second question was ‘What do you think of Donald Trump?’
“He said ‘Donald Trump is a chirolita (a slang term for dummy or puppet).”
Maradona was managing Al Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates at the time, but needed to travel to Miami to make a court appearance in a case involving Claudia Villafane, his ex-wife.
His lawyer told him: “After this (insulting Trump), I’m going to have to represent you in Miami instead.”
You scored
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Maradona Made His Feelings on Trump Very Clear
In 2019, Maradona was in charge of Mexican club Dorados. After a victory, the Argentine hero dedicated the result to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He said:
“I want to dedicate this triumph to Nicolas Maduro and to all Venezuelans who are suffering. The sheriffs of the world — who are these Yankees?
“Just because they have the biggest bombs in the world they think are so much more advanced than us. No, they are not.”
Trump was still in his first run at the White House, and his clashing of heads with Maduro has even continued into his current term. In January 2026, Trump announced the U.S. military’s capture of Maduro after a long-standing conflict.
Distressing news has emerged from the wrestling world this week, with a WWE Hall of Famer reportedly “rotting to death” in a hospital bed after images of his condition surfaced online.
Now 85 years old, the hardcore icon in question was rushed to hospital in October after suffering a stroke, but his condition has reportedly deteriorated significantly in the months since.
During an astonishing 54-year career, he built a reputation for taking part in some of the most brutal matches the sport has ever seen. His lengthy list of accomplishments includes reigns as NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, NWA World Tag Team Champion and WCWA Brass Knuckles Champion, cementing his place among wrestling’s most enduring and respected figures.
WWE Superstar Goes Viral After Posing Nude With Title Belt in the Bath
The Instagram post has already garnered nearly 75,000 likes, with many wrestling fans quick to share one particular image on the carousel.
WWE Hall of Famer ‘Rotting’ in Hospital Bed as Distressing Images Emerge
Abdullah the Butcher, real name Lawrence Robert Shreve, is now bedridden and has spent months in nursing homes and hospitals in Atlanta, Georgia in the US, suffering from horrific life-threatening infections. He told a local TV news crew, as per the Daily Star (see the distressing image below):
“I want the world to pray for me.”
His assistant, Malikah Marshall, said: “He’s not doing too well. He has a sacral wound and it started real small. And now it’s real large to where you could probably put one or two of your fists in his wound.”
The grappling specialist appeared on camera on Atlanta First News looking frail in a hospital bed as he told of his ordeal. Bedsores are caused by pressure that reduces or cuts off blood flow to the skin and can increase the risk of life-threatening bacterial infections.
Abdbullah the Butcher’s Condition is Rapidly Deteriorating
Speaking about his condition, Malikah continued: “I’ve been helping him for the past 15 years and I’ve never seen him like this. He’s lost so much weight.
“I don’t know what to do because I need help. I need somebody to help me because I want to save his life. With a wound that deep, sepsis set in, and he could die.”
A fundraising page has been set up to help cover his medical expenses. It reads: “Late last year, Abdullah suffered two strokes. He is still dealing with health issues related to the strokes and diabetes. The hospital in Atlanta is working hard to discharge him. Miss Malikah is working around the clock to maintain his care. His bills are piling up, and he needs our support more than ever.”
Professional wrestler Devon “Hannibal” Nicholson – who alleged Abdullah gave him blood disease Hepatitis C during a match – posted to his YouTube channel: “Abdullah the Butcher spending his final days literally rotting to death before he is sent off to hell.”
Nicholson won a $2 million lawsuit against him in 2014 after his WWE contract offer was rescinded when he was diagnosed with the blood disease, of which he is now cured.
Manchester United are said to be at the front of the queue to sign one of the most exciting young talents in English football this summer. The Red Devils are hoping to upgrade their midfield this summer, and they have already made a start by snapping up Ederson from Atalanta.
But with Casemiro departing, a holding midfielder is on the wishlist, and United may well add another more dynamic midfielder to the mix between now and the end of the window,
Michael Carrick is going to get plenty of money to spend in a bid to take this United team from third place to into the title conversation, and a highly-rated Premier League talent could take up a chunk of that spend.
Manchester United lead Alex Scott race
According to Sky Sports, United are one of two sides leading the race to sign AFC Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott this summer. The report read: “It remains to be seen whether Spurs intend to try and sign both or just one of these two top midfielders. Alex Scott is also a Spurs target but Arsenal and Manchester United are the current frontrunners.”
Scott played a crucial part in Bournemouth qualifying for the Europa League, only missing one Premier League game all season. He was in contention for the England World Cup squad this summer, but he just missed out, instead serving as an injury back-up and travelling to Florida for the pre-tournament training camp.
The Cherries will understandably be desperate to keep hold of him. As things stand, the midfielder has just two years remaining on his deal, and it’s likely a new contract will need to be offered if Bournemouth are to stand a chance of keeping Scott.
The Cherries are said to be asking for around £80million to sell the 22-year-old, which could give United a decision to make. It may be tough for the Red Devils to sign two midfielders around that price, and why Scott is a box-to-box player, he is more attacking, which is arguably not what United need most after Casemiro’s departure.
Scott would be an ‘amazing’ signing for United
Bournemouth wisely snapped up Scott at the age of 19, paying a £25million fee that was questioned by some at the time. But they are likely to make a more than three-fold profit on the midfielder whenever he does leave, and they have already benefited from his talent along the way.
Now former Cherries boss said after a clash with Arsenal last season: “Alex [Scott] has been like this for many months. He was amazing. He’s in such good form. I’m so happy for him. He’s worked a lot to be at this level.”
Scott is one of a number of top young talents Bournemouth have cleverly recruited, and he was nominated for the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season award, which was won by Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly.
Man Utd Hold Talks to Sign £80m Midfielder Instead of Mateus Fernandes
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Diego Maradona Was Banned From USA ‘Because He Insulted Donald Trump’
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