RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesManchester City propose alternative to transfer levy hike as Premier League’s New Deal funding debate intensifies
Man City have submitted a revised proposal to limit transfer levy increase to one percentage point
The club is among a top-flight minority seeking alternatives to a 50% hike in the domestic levy
City are not opposed to the broader principle of a new funding settlement with the EFL
Manchester City have submitted a revised proposal to modify the transfer levy increase at the heart of the Premier League’s landmark £1.5 billion New Deal with the English Football League, as per a new report.
The proposed New Deal – the outline of which has been shared with the EFL’s board and the Independent Football Regulator – is intended to create a long-term framework to underpin the financial sustainability of the professional game in England over a ten-year period, with Premier League clubs being asked to increase the existing domestic transfer levy from four percent to six percent as the primary mechanism for generating the additional funds required.
Manchester City are among the clubs understood to have reservations about the scale of that increase, having submitted a revised proposal earlier this week that would restrict the levy hike to a single percentage point rather than the two-point rise currently on the table – a position that would result in a meaningfully lower contribution to the New Deal from the clubs expected to be the largest payers under the current structure.
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At least one other Premier League club is said to endorse City’s revised approach, while a further club has reportedly proposed a separate alternative – a cap on the total amount of revenue the higher levy would raise before it reverted to the existing four percent – suggesting a broader conversation among a small number of top-flight sides about the precise mechanism through which the deal is funded rather than the principle behind it.
Report: Big Six discussions underway over New Deal levy as City submit revised terms
According to Sky News , some members of the so-called big six – comprising Arsenal , Chelsea , Liverpool , Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur – have held discussions in recent days about modifying the proposal to fund the New Deal through a transfer levy increase from four percent to six percent.
City’s submission restricts the proposed increase to one percentage point, reflecting a position that would reduce the financial burden on the clubs expected to contribute the most under the current structure, given that the levy is applied to all top-flight transfer deals and therefore falls most heavily on those most active in the market.
The New Deal itself is structured as a sliding-scale arrangement, with the first annual payment to the EFL expected to be below £100 million when the 2026-27 season begins, rising to £164 million by the third year of the agreement and remaining at that level through the remainder of the ten-year period.
Separately, a new “lifeboat fund” worth £20 million is proposed as part of the deal to assist EFL clubs that fall into administration – a provision designed to address one of the most visible and recurring sources of financial distress in the professional game below the Premier League.
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Manchester City’s intervention adds complexity to a process that was already subject to significant debate among top-flight clubs about the appropriate scale of their contribution to a redistribution agreement that has been in discussion for over three years.
The club’s decision to submit a formal counter-proposal rather than simply vote against the current terms suggests an engagement with the spirit of the New Deal rather than outright resistance – a distinction that Sky News makes clear in its reporting, noting no suggestion that City oppose the funding settlement in principle.
The broader context of City’s legal proceedings – with the club and the Premier League still awaiting the outcome of their case involving 115 alleged breaches of financial rules brought in 2023 – adds a layer of background sensitivity to any public positioning by the club on matters of football governance and finance, though the transfer levy proposal is understood to be a separate matter entirely from that ongoing dispute.
Whether the Premier League can bring sufficient clubs into alignment to pass the New Deal resolution before the 2026-27 season begins in earnest now depends in part on whether City’s revised approach, or any of the other alternative proposals circulating among top-flight clubs, can be incorporated into a final structure that commands the 14-vote majority required for the resolution to pass.
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