Ironically, the very success Tottenham craves – a return to European football – could trigger a formal breach of UEFA’s stringent regulations. While Premier League teams must adhere to the Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) limit of 85 per cent of revenue, UEFA requires those competing in its tournaments to keep costs below 70 per cent.
Furthermore, UEFA’s Football Earnings Rule (FER) dictates that clubs cannot exceed an aggregate loss of €60m over a three-year monitoring period. Given the massive outlay during the recent window, Spurs are already walking a thin line regarding these specific continental benchmarks.
Discussing the potential impact, Borson stated: “I think one year out is probably manageable. They’ll breach the Football Earnings test if they qualify for European football. Either way, whatever happens now they’re already over that. On a three year basis you only have a maximum hit of €60m.”