Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis believes the Premier League should consider a salary cap in a bid to achieve financial stability.
With Manchester City dominating the summer's transfer headlines with reports of huge fees and wages being offered for top stars, Gazidis has called for a greater responsibility from top-flight clubs.
"I think it is worth our while to investigate whether there are elements of the salary cap system, which they have in US NFL and baseball (sic), which would benefit football," Gazidis told The Guardian.
"Clubs have a duty to provide more stability in our business models and some form of wage restraint is one element worth looking at.
"There are many ways in which it could work."
Gazidis joined Arsenal last year after working as the deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer, which employs a salary cap.
Your Comments
Stokie_Rich
"i'd love to see it happen but the top players would look to make more money from advertising or find some loop hole to get paid the same, and that could have a worse effect on football. And isnt this slightly hypocritical coming from Arsenal? Havent they got some kind of off shore tax 'agreement' for their players, or used to have?"
siguy604
"Just a correction to Red_till_i_die. Im in Canada so we know about our hockey, but not here to fight, just want to put out the facts, The NHL had to go on Lockout (owners locked out the players, the players did not strike) in order to get a salary cap. The owners played hardball by letting the players rot (no pay while locked out for an entire season) and in the end they won. The owners got a salary cap and the players got back to playing. "
wildheart79
"How about just introducing a salary cap for those clubs who want to play in the Champions Leauge. Teams can spunk as much as they like on wages but what would be the point in doing that if you couldnt take part in the top footballing competition in Europe. More to the point, if the top 4 and City are over the budget, we could see, Villa, Everton, Wigan and Fulham represent England in the CL next season. Would at least provide some entertainment."
dan_the_afc_fan
"I believe there should be an incentive scheme where the higher in the official world rankings you are as a player the more you are entitled to earn. Lets say for example that any player in the top 10 are entitled to a maximum of say 100 grand a week. Then the next 10 players in the world rankings are allowed a maximum wage of say 80 grand a week and as the rankings teirs drop so do the maximum wage allowance. The rankings system would be done by a fair point scoring system instead of opinions and worked out at the end of each season.
The figures are just examples but i think this would be a great way of stopping players from leaving cubs for more money as they can't earn any more unless they improve their performances. I think this will also stop average players demanding the same wages as better players are on as the rules implemented prevent it."
dehya
"It's should definitley be implemented - but would have to be by enforced by FIFA - hence apply to every league in the world."
ComeontheRos
"The reason it is only English teams being bought is that the worst team in the premiership is guaranteed about £40m, with a further £30m+ in parachute payments after relegation. Spanish teams must be 51% spanish owned(which I'm sure could be challenged in European courts) but even so only two teams make much money from national television (Madrid and Barca both make roughly ¿150m a year from domestic TV before Champion league is added, compared to Valencia's total income of ¿100m(TV(both domestic and CL), gates and merchandise and Atletico's of ¿80m). Spain is in real danger of turning into Scottish football in the next year or two.
Salary caps and restricting numbers of foreign players can not and will not work in the EU. It is illegal and Blatter, Platini et alcan huff and puff and do what they like, but this will not change. All a french player in England has to do is sign a contract for 24,999,999 a week with £1 appearance fee per game and he can go to court and say his income is restricted in comparison to an English players."
EssexLad1985
"Clubs should only be allowed to spend what they earn, anything else just seems like cheating to me."
CB11
"All European clubs should be capped if it is going to happen and work."
the1cat007
"Isnt the 50% tax on £100,000pa salaries going to act as its own wage cap? Apart from chelski, manyoo and citeh no team is going to be able to afford to compete with the salaries foreign clubs can offer (after tax) so a balance in this country alone should be found, and besides if paying a player £130,000 a week is seen as ok (im guessing the limit would have to be around that point) I dont really see how £200,000 a week isnt ok, people might say its a slippery slope but I think its far too late for that, in fact it was too late for that in 1998."
goon
"a salary cap won't work unless it is worldwide, or you might find the robinos of this world saying how they "always dreamed of playing in the abu dhabi supermega league". clubs however have a duty to be responsible. players can scrape on £50,000 a week, sure it means they may not be able to afford that special stitching on their spare ferrari, but players like gattuso this week who apperently offered to take a pay cut to stay at milan are much more valuble than the mercenaries."
All comments on this story