Brighton owner Tony Bloom insists PSR rules are not an issue and clubs cannot blame the concept when they sell their best young players to remain financially compliant
Brighton owner Tony Bloom has rejected the idea that Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) are forcing clubs to sell their best young players after seeing several managers bemoan the concept – but insists their gripes “makes no sense whatsoever”.
The Seagulls are one of the best run clubs in the Premier League and their recruitment model has made them the envy of many. They’ve never spent more than £40million on a player but have continued to recoup huge profits on some of their biggest names.
The likes of Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Yves Bissouma arrived as unknown quantities and left for huge sums. Brighton have not struggled to toe the financial line, which allows a club to lose £105m across the three-year period.
Bloom maintains that the rules are laid out for everyone and the Premier League can’t go on “if people flout the rules”. Several clubs have been hit with points deduction for breaching the figures set out and the Brighton boss has laughed off the idea that teams are having to cash in on young stars just to stay within the parameters.
He told the Athletic: “You don’t have to agree to the rules. You don’t have to have voted for them. If the league votes rules in, you have to abide by them. No competition can continue if people flout the rules, so people should stick to the rules and if they don’t, there needs to be consequences.
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“We don’t want anyone to break the rules. Everyone knows what they are and in PSR it’s a three-year rolling amount you can lose of £105million that doesn’t include things like the academy, the women’s team and any infrastructure projects. It’s a huge amount of money and so if clubs go over it, there need to be the consequences.
“There’s a lot of media talk about it not working because it forces clubs to sell homegrown players. That’s really false. You don’t have to sell homegrown players. You just need to organise your finances in a way that you are not at risk about going over the limit. That’s fallacious arguments which I’ve heard quite a lot. It makes no sense whatsoever.”
Brighton previously signed Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle, a deal motivated by the fact the Magpies were close to the line financially. He had a growing reputation and there was some frustration at St James’ Park at his exit. Even more frustrating was the departure of Elliot Anderson however.
Transfer anger
Eddie Howe has admitted that he would welcome the Nottingham Forest midfielder back with open arms. He’s since become an England star and the Newcastle boss concedes the reasons behind his exit don’t sit well with him.
He said: “I don’t know (if the move will happen), but certainly from my perspective I would love him to. It is very regretful a player from the academy who had given so much – and the club had given so much to – for him not to be utilised here is a real shame. We had no choice but to make the sale, but it was not one we wanted to do. It didn’t sit right with me then and doesn’t sit right with me today.”
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was equally frustrated by the rules. He has spent fortunes on new players at the Blues, but still claimed it was the rules that forced the west Londoners into selling their best young talent.
In light of Conor Gallagher’s sale to Atletico Madrid he said: “But this is not Chelsea’s problem, these are the rules. All the clubs at this moment are compelled to sell players from the academy because of the rules. It’s all of the Premier League clubs’ problems.
“I also think the intention of the club is not to sell players from the academy but it is the rules at the end that you have to do it. It’s not only us, it’s all the Premier League clubs. It’s a shame because in Italy, we have [Francesco] Totti with Roma, 20 years with the same club. One-club-man; we love that in football, the fans want to see that. But with the rules now it is different than the past.
“It is not only Chelsea spending money on players. It’s all the big clubs to try and buy players. Some of the clubs spend more, some spend less.”
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