Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are reportedly in two opposite camps as the Premier League clubs bicker over a key financial regulation.
Spurs and Chelsea locked horns on the pitch on Saturday, and it was not much of a contest, with the Lilywhites barely laying a glove on their London rivals.
The Blues only emerged with a 1-0 win, but they would have won a lot more handsomely if not for Guglielmo Vicario’s heroics in goal, with Tottenham only mustering an xG of 0.05 across the 90 minutes.
It turns out that the two London clubs are also major adversaries at the boardroom level, as a key issue is up for a vote in the Premier League.
Tottenham and Chelsea are leading opposite factions in PSR debate
Football finance expert Adam Williams has now revealed that the Lilywhites and the Blues are leading the two different factions in debates regarding the current PSR regulations.
He explained that the Premier League is more divided than ever in the aftermath of Manchester City’s 115 charges, with the financial restrictions being the main subject of disagreement.
Williams told TBR Football: “There are two kinds of rivalries in the Premier League when it comes to the relationships between big clubs: 1) on the pitch and 2) behind the scenes.
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“The fallout from Manchester City’s financial charges, the Associated Party Transactions case and differences on matters such as state ownership mean the Premier League is more divided than ever.
“Broadly speaking, there are two loose factions, and Spurs and Chelsea are certainly in opposing camps. They have cooperated when it is in their shared interests to do so, such as when it came to the European Super League.
“In terms of the distribution of prize money, the fixture calendar, the Independent Football Regulator and so on, they are broadly aligned. However, Spurs and Chelsea don’t agree on PSR, which is the defining issue of the current era.”
ENIC’s PSR stance has not changed despite recent cash injection
Last month, Tottenham’s majority owners injected equity of £100m into the club, and according to reports, ENIC have promised to invest even more into Spurs over the coming months and years.
However, Williams explained that ENIC are still very much in favour of the PSR regulations and are expected to vote to keep the current restrictions in place.
He added: “Spurs would be quite happy to have a stronger PSR system. At the upcoming Premier League shareholder meeting, for example, I expect them to vote in favour of the new anchoring rule, which will limit spending to a five-times multiple of what the bottom-placed clubs earn from the Premier League.
“But in 25 years of ownership, ENIC have only put their hand in their pocket on three or four occasions. On the whole, they spend what they earn – and the presence of clubs that go beyond their means makes it harder for them to compete using that model.
“Chelsea are at the opposite end of the spectrum. The owners have pledged to invest £1.75bn in the team and infrastructure. And the club is running operating losses of £200m-plus every season at the moment. That’s why they are in trouble under UEFA’s spending rules, which don’t have as many loopholes as the Premier League’s. So I would expect them to vote in favour of more lenient PSR measures.”