Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly vehemently against a proposal that would see wages anchored to the team that finishes bottom of the Premier League.
The proposed rule change, which is set to be high on the agenda when Premier League clubs convene in London on Monday, would see the amount of money any club can invest in their squads linked to the amount made through TV money and commercial deals by the team that finishes bottom of the table.
Man Utd unable to reap rewards of revenue
Those in favour of anchoring believe it would reduce the growing disparity between the Premier league and the Championship, and feel it would limit the impact of increases in revenues for those involved in the expanded Champions League.
But and INEOS – who took a 27.7 per cent stake in United earlier this year – are among those who believe they re being unfairly penalised, as they wouldn t be able to reap the rewards of their revenue, which reached a record £648.4m last year, when it comes to improving their squad.
The Athletic claim that when the idea was first suggested last year, the top-to-bottom multiple its backers had in mind was 4.5 but, with several clubs strongly opposed to the cap, the league is now suggesting a looser multiple of five.
The cap would have been £518m, five times the £103.6m that Southampton earned, if anchoring was in effect last season, which would have been breached by Chelsea, who spent more than that on wages, amortised transfer fees and payments to agents.
