At the time United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said anchoring would “inhibit the top clubs in the Premier League, and the last thing you want is for the top clubs in the Premier League not to be able to compete with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain – that’s absurd”.
In the 2023-24 season 20th-placed Sheffield United earned about £110m. So last season no top-flight club would have been able to spend more than £550m on player wages, amortised transfer fees and agents combined if TBA had been in force.
Meanwhile, a European club generating revenues of £1bn, for example, would be able to spend £700m, while still adhering to Uefa’s SCR rules.
City spent £413m on wages alone last year, with total revenues of £715m. With amortised transfer fees and agents fees added to those outgoings, they could be one of a number of clubs close to a breach if TBA was in force.
Some clubs opposed to TBA are known to fear that it could threaten the Premier League’s long-term status, may put some clubs at threat of an immediate breach and could disincentivise growth.
BBC Sport has learned that, under the current proposals, any club breaching the rules for a second time would be sanctioned with a six-point deduction, plus a further point for every £6.5m of overspend.
Clubs opposed to the TBA system say the league’s competitive balance is sound as it is, and that some clubs are only in favour because it will mean less money is spent on player wages.
In February the PFA issued what the Premier League described as “legal demands” over concerns it had about the impact that anchoring could have on player contracts if introduced.
The league said the PFA had been given “multiple opportunities to provide feedback”.
In 2021 the PFA’s claim that a planned salary cap by the EFL for League One and League Two was “unlawful and unenforceable” was upheld by an independent arbitration panel.
The Premier League has been approached for comment.