Premier League to close FFP loophole exposed by Chelsea

Rules are changing soon

Chelsea have been the main club under the spotlight and remain so after signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a British transfer record of £115m on a deal until 2031.

Caicedo becomes the 22nd player to sign a contract lasting for longer than five years and the decision to offer players contracts for longer than five years enables clubs to spread out payments over a longer date and avoid breaching the league's spending rules.

UEFA responded to this style of dealing earlier in the year by imposing a five-year limit for transfer fees to be paid irrespective of the length of the deal and according to the Daily Mail, the Premier League will now also adopt that approach.

A source for the Premier League told the Mail: "This hasn't been discussed formally, but is something we will look at. Alignment with UEFA rules would make sense for all parties. The only club currently handing out eight-year contracts on a regular basis is likely to be involved in UEFA competitions soon, as are any others that follow suit."

The UEFA ruling also won't affect Mauricio Pochettino's side after their failure to qualify for Europe last season.

As well as Caicedo, Romeo Lavia is also expected to move to Stamford Bridge after reports on Tuesday revealed that the Blues had agreed a £60m deal with Souhampton to sign 19-year-old midfielder, Romeo Lavia.

If that goes through it will mean that the west London club will have spent almost £1bn on transfers since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover in May 2022, which could put them at risk of breaking rules both domestically and continentally.

Related links:

• Micah Richards encouraged by ‘outstanding’ Chelsea display
• Liverpool identify Moises Caicedo alternativeChelsea close to agreeing deal with Southampton for Romeo Lavia