Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham brace for major FFP change as UEFA stance on new rules revealed

UEFA says it is pleased with the influence of the new financial sustainability rules that have more «disciplinary power than ever before» — after a report revealed that player wages increased by less than 1% across Europe in 2023.

In 2022, UEFA announced the introduction of new squad cost control regulations that would see clubs' spending powers dictated by the revenue they generate. At the start of the 2023/24 season, new rules were drafted to limit spending on player and coach wages, transfers and agents' fees to 70% of a club's total earnings. It was the most significant change UEFA had made to its financial regulations since they were first introduced back in 2010.

According to a report compiled by UEFA, that analysed over 700 top clubs, the gradual introduction of more stringent financial rules at the start of last season is already having the desired impact across the continent, with clubs reportedly «taking stock of their wage bills and trying to get their costs under control».

It comes after clubs in France (89%), Belgium (88%), Turkey (88%) and Italy (83%) were revealed to have spent an «unsustainable» level of their total revenue on wages during the 2020-21 period. Those numbers were particularly worrying as they existed at a time when clubs were left without a significant chunk of their usual incomings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, UEFA's Financial Sustainability and Research Director, Andrea Traverso, has hailed the «strong signs» of the more stringent financial regulations and believes they are causing clubs across Europe to rebalance their books. He also highlighted figures that show less than a 1% increase in player wages in 2023, the lowest yearly increase ever recorded.

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