Welcome to issue #016 of Contemporary Football, your inside look at how the game really works behind the scenes.
Monday to Friday, you’ll uncover a new perspective on football business, and sometimes a deeper story that sharpens your thinking and gives you an edge in the beautiful game.
If you need support on your football journey, just write me.
Hey everyone,
The Premier League just voted on a new financial system.
Salary caps? Rejected.
A new spending limit? Approved.
A “luxury tax”? Coming.
And beneath all the rules and numbers, there is one simple message:
Football is changing, and clubs need to change with it.
Let’s break it down together.
What you need to know
Clubs were asked to approve a sort of salary cap called “the anchor rule.”
It linked spending to the TV money earned by the last-placed Premier League team.
Only seven clubs voted yes. Not even close to enough.
The players’ union hated it.
Some clubs felt it would freeze ambition.
Others feared it would invite legal chaos.
So the cap is gone.
But something else passed.
The new rule: 85%
From next season, clubs must keep their football spending, wages, transfers, agent fees, within 85% of their revenues.
Goodbye to the old “lose up to £105m over three years” model.
Hello to something closer to UEFA’s system (which sits around 70%).
It’s not strict.
It’s not soft.
Some clubs voted against it: Bournemouth, Brighton, Palace, Brentford.
Not because they disagree with discipline.
But because they’ve lived off smart player trading for years.
And rules like this make their margin of error smaller.
I get it.
Change always hurts those who operate well under the old rules.
And yes, there’s a luxury tax
If you go above the 85% limit, you pay.
That money goes to the clubs that stay within the rules.
A reward for discipline.
Think of it as a financial version of “play smarter, not harder.”
This part will matter a lot.
Because it rewards clubs that grow sustainably.
Not those who simply gamble to stay alive.
A new concept: “Sustainability and Systemic Resilience”
The Premier League also approved something with a long name but a simple idea:
Is your club financially healthy today, tomorrow, and in five years?
They’ll look at:
working capital
liquidity
positive equity
If these indicators collapse, so will your freedom to spend.
And if you go beyond 115% of the limit, you get sanctioned.
My take
Clubs always want one thing: freedom.
Freedom to spend.
Freedom to dream.
Freedom to make mistakes.
But freedom without structure is chaos.
And chaos is what destroys clubs.
This new Premier League system pushes clubs toward a healthier idea of ambition:
“grow first, spend second.”
The market is changing.
Even the mid-table Premier League clubs, who lived off big sales and clever recruitment, will need to rethink their model.
There’s only one game now:
build revenue that grows faster than your costs.
The clubs that succeed at this will thrive.
The others… will learn the hard way.
That’s all for today!
See you tomorrow,
Federico