UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has described the prospect of clubs such as Newcastle United being able to close the gap on the elite while maintaining financial sustainability in the game as the 'million-dollar question'.
Newcastle are bound by the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, which allow total losses of £105m over a three-year period, and Eddie Howe's side will also have to contend with UEFA's financial sustainability regulations if they qualify for Europe. These rules will eventually cap what clubs can spend on wages, transfer fees and agents' fees to 70% of revenues from 2025/26.
Newcastle's owners may have spent more than a quarter of a billion pounds on transfer fees to date, but the Magpies have not been able to maximise their spending power because of these restrictions. In fact, Howe warned last month that Financial Fair Play will continue to limit what Newcastle can do 'unless we can dramatically change our revenue streams' despite the club having such wealthy owners.
