Liverpool could bolster transfer budget with pure profit FFP loophole to make millions

In a season where Everton and Nottingham Forest have both been handed Premier League points deductions, the English top-flight’s profitability and sustainability regulations have been an increasing talking point.

Liverpool are comfortably within the Premier League's PSR, after recording a £9m pre-tax loss for the previous 12 months when posting their financial results for the 2022/23 season back in March.

But it is a different story for so many of their top-flight rivals, who continue to fly close to the margins for error, and could find themselves at risk of being sanctioned and following in Everton and Forest’s footsteps.

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Such regulations are starting Premier League transfer activity. For example, the likes of Manchester United and Newcastle United found themselves unable to strengthen their squads in January, at risk of crossing over the unwanted threshold.

Meanwhile, others are forced to sell players in an attempt to stay on the right side of the line.

But, using Everton as an example, there is a difference between the £60m sale of Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2022 and Anthony Gordon’s £45m exit to Newcastle United in January 2023.

That’s because the England international was a Blues academy graduate, with his exit classed as ‘pure profit’ by PSR as a result. Something of a loophole for accountants, sides are ultimately rewarded for developing players, training them, and introducing them to Premier League success before moving them on for big fees.

High-profile examples in the English top-flight