salary cap, raised tolerance threshold… what does the new financial fair play look like?

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Farewell to financial fair play, welcome to “financial sustainability regulations”. UEFA voted Thursday, April 7, in the executive committee, the new version of financial fair play, applied from next season, with three watchwords: solvency, stability and cost control.

A new look, twelve years after the adoption of the mechanism, marked by a change of title, but also some new measures in the economic and financial control of European clubs. Franceinfo: sport presents the main changes introduced by this reform.

The tolerance threshold raised to 60 million euros

Financial fair play works on a basic principle for clubs: not to spend more than their real income. Until now, a tolerance threshold of 30 million euros in deficit over three financial years was set by UEFA. This threshold will be multiplied by two and will now be set at 60 million euros, still subject to a guarantee from the shareholder.

The gradual introduction of a “salary-cap”

Among the new measures, UEFA will introduce a “salary-cap” system, very popular in American sports. The objective is to regulate spending on salaries by clubs, which will not be able to devote more than 70% of their resources to it from 2025. The introduction of the “salary-cap” will be gradual, with initially a limit of 90% in 2023, then 80% in 2024.

“It’s a signal to investors: ‘You can inject new money, but you don’t have to burn everything in recruitment and salaries'”summarizes with AFP Raffaele Poli, head of the CIES Football Observatory in Neuchâtel. “Even the big clubs are victims of this wage inflation, while feeding it”he adds, and they can brandish the new rules “in the face of excessive claims” players as well as their agents. Clubs that do not meet the thresholds will have to pay pre-established fines which will then be redistributed among the most virtuous.

Real debt control

UEFA will finally take an interest in the liabilities of its clubs and take into account their debts, which are sometimes monumental (1.3 billion euros accumulated at FC Barcelona for example). From now on, the controls will be more regular, promises UEFA, which will be less tolerant in this regard.


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