Leeds reveal explosive truth about clubs' Newcastle stance as PSR rules to get 'stricter'


PSR rules are 'fundamentally broken' but are supported by the so-called big six because they 'don't want' clubs like Newcastle United to upset the established order.

That is according to Angus Kinnear, the CEO of Leeds United, who has been in meetings with fellow Premier League executives over the years, and follows previous comments made by former Newcastle owner Amanda Staveley. Staveley suggested that 'other clubs do everything they can to make sure those places are available to as few people as possible' after new sponsorship rules were introduced immediately after Newcastle's takeover nearly three years ago, which ensure all commercial deals with companies linked to a club's owners are independently assessed to establish they are of fair market value.

Newcastle nonetheless qualified for the Champions League in 2023 and Aston Villa, another club who have been unable to maximise the wealth of their backers, followed suit last year. However, Aston Villa failed in a bid to raise permitted losses from £105m over a rolling three-year period to £135m earlier this summer despite this figure not rising in line with inflation since PSR rules were first introduced more than a decade ago.

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Clubs have agreed to trial squad cost rules and top to bottom anchoring in shadow, alongside the existing PSR regulations, but Kinnear has admitted that it is only going to get harder for upwardly mobile sides with inferior revenues to disrupt the status quo.

"It's fundamentally broken," he told the Square Ball. "British football has lost track of what PSR is even trying to achieve. There are some clubs that say it's a sustainability issue which, candidly, I don't think exists. I think we have one of the most sustainable industries in the world.

"We've got the same 100 protagonists playing at the top level of English football as we did 100 years ago bar one or two exceptions. We have the greatest product in the Premier League and we have fantastic strength in depth across the Championship with another 72 professional clubs and then even more professional clubs in the National League, but there's this obsession with sustainability where I think that good owners who are prepared to invest and can show that they've got funds and can commit funds for the long-term shouldn't be prevented from investing in their clubs.

Angus Kinnear, right, with Will Ferrell
Angus Kinnear, right, with Will Ferrell

"The 49ers are hugely frustrated about that because they see the potential of Leeds United and there are those with interests in the game who are very vested in maintaining the status quo. I think Leeds United along with Newcastle and Aston Villa are the only three clubs in England that can legitimately challenge the top six. The top six don't want that challenge so they want to support PSR rules."

He added: "That is the biggest issue with PSR. It's cementing the status quo and meaning that ambitious clubs which have huge potential are going to find it increasingly hard to compete at the highest level.

"The regulation that is coming in is going to make these rules stricter and tighter - not the opposite. I'm more for a freer market where as long as your owners can show they can forward fund investment into the club, they are allowed to. It should be a dilution of PSR rather than making it more strict."