2023-12-13 04:44:12
English Championship clubs will no longer be able to have their players sign contracts exceeding five years, the Premier League announced on Tuesday in a communiquéobliged to comply with UEFA regulations.
The reform adopted on Tuesday aims to prevent a widespread practice among certain clubs, in particular by Chelsea in recent months, which consists of establishing very long-term contracts for accounting reasons. As transfer fees are spread across the books over the duration of a contract, the longer a contract, the lower the annual payments recorded in the club’s accounts. For example, compensation of 100 million euros would be amortized at 20 million per year under a five-year contract, but only at 12.5 million per year under a commitment of eight years.
The Premier League on Tuesday amended “the rule on the amortization of player registration costs to align it with UEFA regulations. In the future, a maximum duration of five years will apply to all new player contracts or their extensions,” said a press release from the English league.
Chelsea’s American owners have particularly distinguished themselves by signing long-term contracts during the last transfer windows, such as with Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk (eight and a half years) or Benoît Badiashile (seven and a half years) in January. The “Blues” repeated the maneuver last summer by recruiting the French Axel Disasi and Christopher Nkunku with six-year contracts, which will now be impossible. In France, the maximum duration of a contract is already five years.
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