Do English clubs have problems with UEFA's Financial Regulations (and does it actually matter?)

Don't Mug Yourself

Last week I looked at the position of the 20 Premier League clubs in terms of the domestic Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR), but noted that the leading clubs also have to face the additional challenge of complying with UEFA’s rules.

Indeed, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) will shortly be issuing their annual update on which clubs have breached the financial targets for the 2023/24 season, which is likely to feature a couple of English clubs.

UEFA’s regulations are a fair bit stricter than the Premier League, as the allowable losses are much smaller, even though these have been increased over the years, while clubs also have to contend with the new squad cost control ratio.

So today we will look at UEFA’s regulations in detail to see whether the nine English clubs that have qualified for European competitions in 2025/26 are likely to be compliant:

• Champions League (6) – Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur

• Europa League (2) – Aston Villa and Crystal Palace

• Conference League (1) – Nottingham Forest

For the sake of completeness, we will also include Manchester United in our review, even though they have not qualified for any UEFA competition next season, as they had to contend with these regulations in 2024/25.

UEFA Regulations

In 2022 UEFA introduced amended regulations to focus on the financial sustainability of clubs with three key pillars being monitored:

• Solvency

• Stability

• Cost Control