Manchester United’s upcoming summer transfer window was set to be a landmark one as it will be Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s first as United owner.
Now, it will be a landmark window for all Premier League clubs and United are not huge fans of it.
Martyn Ziegler of The Times reports that the league has voted in a spending cap for the clubs from next season with only three clubs voting against it.
NEW: Premier League clubs agree in principle for spending cap known as anchoring to TV earnings of bottom club. Understood Man City, Man Utd, Villa voted against and Chelsea abstained.
Will now go to AGM— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) April 29, 2024
The Manchester clubs, along with Aston Villa voted against it while free-spending Chelsea abstained from voting.
The new cap will anchor the maximum spend of all clubs in the league to the TV revenue of the bottom-placed club in the league.
It is still undecided by what multiple that revenue will be finalised to reach the final cap, neither is it decided what the repercussions for going over it will be.
In the meantime, this proposal will go to the Annual General Meeting of the league but this might just be the start of the storm.
The PFA, the organisation that safeguards the interests of the players, has already come out with a statement against the proposal, wary of it potentially capping player wages.
Furthermore, with other countries not following suit, it could put the Premier League at a competitive disadvantage.
England infamously decided to close its transfer window before the start of the league season but had to go back to the status quo after realising other clubs could buy their players.
From a United perspective, it is clear why the club voted against this change.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already shown more ambition for the club than the Glazers did in the last nearly 20 years and he would have been eagerly waiting to start making his mark in the summer.
In the long term, those hands could be tied, especially if United enter a virtuous cycle of on-pitch success driving revenue off the pitch.
Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
