Should the Premier League adopt an MLS-style salary cap after PSR failures? | Premier League

Ihe pre-Rules of profitability and sustainability The times were simpler. Premier League clubs were allowed to spend freely. So freely that, on occasion, a club would spend itself into oblivion (for example, Leeds United and Portsmouth), but at no point was a club expected to have to Selling a hotel to balance the booksMany fans – and club executives, for that matter – have yet to come to terms with the Premier League's PSR.

Major League Soccer fans know how this feels. Spending limits and complex roster rules have been part of the league's DNA since its inception nearly 30 years ago. In MLS, it's not just about what you can spend, but what you're allowed to spend, often to the frustration of those who believe that The league is slowing down to reach their full potential.

MLS, however, may have been one step ahead. While it has been widely argued for years that the league should lower its salary and transfer rules to align with European soccer, European soccer is now moving closer to the kind of model used in American sports. MLS Were you right all along?

PSR The original intention was nobleA cap on the amount of money clubs can lose over a given period of time was introduced into the police force, with Premier League teams entitled to lose a maximum of £105m over three seasons. However, the creation of these rules opened up a number of loopholes that have distorted the transfer market.

Infrastructure costs can be written off the balance sheet, which is why Chelsea sold two hotels next to Stamford Bridge to a sister company owned by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital earlier this year. Academy and women's football costs are also deductible, while money raised from the sale of local players can be accounted for as net profit.

Fans find that last quirk particularly off-putting. Conor Gallagher was a Chelsea player through and through. He came through the Cobham academy and was one of the club's best players last season. Despite that, the midfielder was Pushed out the door to Atlético because Chelsea could make £35m in pure profit. Worse still, Chelsea gave Atléti the money to buy Gallagher by signing João Félix for a £45m fee that could be spread over several seasons. The PSR has downplayed academy players by making them more valuable.

On the other hand, MLS has a number of mechanisms in place that allow teams to take advantage of the best players from their academies. The homegrown player rule allows clubs to quickly bring players from their academies into the first team without necessarily counting against the salary cap. Clubs with the most productive academies have a competitive advantage on the pitch. As they should.

Of course, MLS spending limits and roster rules are far from perfect. Mounting pressure on the league Owners, including Inter Miami's Jorge Mas, are calling for the purse strings to be loosened. MLS rosters have never been more lopsided: Just look at how Inter Miami will pay roughly the same to Lionel Messi ($20.4 million) this year as it will to the rest of its roster. But at least there is a level of transparency that outsiders can study. The MLS Players Association publishes salary information twice a year And while this often leads to further confusion (is Luis Suarez really only getting paid $1.5 million a year?), the information is there to make some sense of the tangled web of MLS rules and regulations.

In addition, the MLS salary cap fulfills one of its crucial goals: parity. Not since 2012, when David Beckham was with the LA Galaxy, has a team retained the MLS Cup. The Supporters' Shield has also been won by four different teams (FC Cincinnati, Los Angeles FC, New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union) in the past four years. Inter Miami will win it for the fifth time in five seasons this season.

Meanwhile, the Premier League The Premier League is increasingly a one-horse race, having handed the trophy to Manchester City six times in the last seven seasons. Pep Guardiola may be the main reason for this dominance, but the PSR has made it easier for bigger clubs to keep their rivals at arm's length. At what point does this start to damage the Premier League's brand?

Whatever PSR set out to achieve, it is failing. Clubs are not being run more prudently. Everton's debt is now More than £550 millionChelsea's net spend over the past three years amounts to more than £650m, while their squad has a combined contract length of 193 years – more than double that of any other Premier League side. Points deductions have been applied, and could rise further.

The clubs have already voted to try a new framework This includes an anchoring model tied to the bottom club’s earnings, though not without opposition from the big boys. For the moment, this is being applied in a “non-binding” manner alongside the current PSR rules. However, if adopted permanently, the new model would function much like a salary cap. For decades, MLS was the exception in world soccer. Now, it could be a trend-setting model.