Tottenham Hotspur's recent Premier League revival may not be all good news.
Roberto De Zerbi's side appear to have really turned a corner over recent weeks.
Spurs are now four games unbeaten in the league, and have won their last three on the bounce.
Albeit the Lilywhites haven't faced the sternest of opposition during this run, but they're back to scoring a healthy number of goals and look far-improved in defence.
Spurs fans are now looking up rather than down, and with just three points separating them from fifth-placed Liverpool, dreams of Europe are returning to N17.
However, should Tottenham once again be mixing it with the continent's elite next season, that could come at a significant financial cost.
What UEFA rule would Tottenham have to adhere to if Europe is reached?
Differing governing bodies have different rules in place for club's to follow in their respective competitions.
In the Premier League, one of their pieces of legislation teams must oblige is Squad Cost Ratio (SCR).
This dictates that teams are required to keep their squad costs below 85 per cent of their club's revenue.
When it comes to Europe and UEFA competitions specifically, however, it's even stricter.
Teams playing in European competitions must keep squad costs below 70 per cent of their total revenue.
UEFA's Football Earnings Rule outlines that teams are forbidden from posting aggregate losses of €60m euros (£50m) over a three-year period.
Both of these rules could spell danger for Spurs, after they splashed out over £300million on new signings over the summer, with Sandro Tonali alone costing £100m.
On top of that, Tottenham's financial results for the year ending 30 June 2025 revealed post-tax losses of £94.7m.
So, what kind of sanctions could Tottenham expect to face if they qualify for Europe and do indeed breach these rules?
How Tottenham are over 600% better off in latest financial reveal UEFA have made recent examples of numerous English clubs
Tottenham would have to reduce their squad costs significantly in order to comply with UEFA's financial rules should they qualify for Europe this season.
But given how much money they've committed to building this team, that may not be possible in time to avoid breaching the aforementioned UEFA rules.
They wouldn't be the first English side to face punishment for breaking them in recent times, however.
As per UEFA's website, Newcastle, Juventus, Nice, Santa Clara, FC Astana and FK Partizan all were in breach of UEFA's football earnings rule for 2025-26.
Newcastle reached a settlement with the First Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) pertaining a total fine of €10m (£8.3m).
Meanwhile, last season also saw Newcastle, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest all break UEFA's squad cost rule.
Villa were fined €22.5m (£18.7m), Chelsea and Newcastle €3m (£2.5m) each and Forest €2.5m (2m).
So, with Tottenham at risk of a potentially more egregious financial rule breach, UEFA could impose severe financial punishments indeed.
Tottenham's upward trajectory in the Premier League could carry them back into Europe, but that may also lead them into UEFA's financial bad books.