How Premier League salary cap would cause £3.8 billion Liverpool valuation to 'go through the roof'

Keith Wyness, most recently the Aston Villa CEO, suggests that implementing a salary cap could significantly enhance the values of clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal, ultimately attracting better investment into the Premier League.

In an interview on Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old, who also served as CEO at Goodison Park from 2004 to 2009 and currently advises elite clubs through his football consultancy, implied that increasing American ownership in English football could lead to the enforcement of a wage cap.

Data from Capology reveals that Premier League clubs collectively spend over £1.8 billion annually on player wages, with top earners like Man City's Kevin De Bruyne pocketing a base wage of £400,000 per week.

Liverpool's highest earner, Mohamed Salah, earns £350,000 but on the whole, their wage bill is quite balanced.

Many North American sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB, already operate with salary caps.

The Premier League is considering a Premier League salary cap

A previous claim from Steve Parish, the owner of Crystal Palace, indicated that the Premier League is contemplating a hard cap, limiting clubs to allocate only 70% of their turnover towards wages and transfer fees.

Speaking on Sky Sports in October 2023, Parish said: "I think everything is being looked at. It's always a balance between sustainability, competitive balance and doing the right thing. I imagine the changes we make won't be static. We will try and get it right and then we will see how it goes and then tinker with it again.

"The most important thing at the moment is that we try and maintain the competitive balance in the league and we make all the clubs sustainable. That's the aim. They are quite difficult things to marry sometimes."

Liverpool and Arsenal could benefit from Premier League salary cap

Addressing the potential impact on clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal, known for their self-sustainable models, Wyness stated in the podcast: "The NFL franchises went through the roof in terms of valuations when there was a salary cap introduced. We’ve always talked about American owners in the Premier League having enough votes, potentially, to vote something like that through.

“Wages are the cost which runs away. It isn’t so much the transfer spending, it’s the wages and the salaries.

“There’s got to be a formula which limits the transfer fee when there’s a salary cap in place. That’s what will increase the valuations of clubs and get better investment into the Premier League.”

Wyness’s proposition could see the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool see their worth soar, as per a report from Football Insider. This is due to how both clubs are run, valuing economic stability over spending huge money consistently on transfers like Chelsea and the Manchester clubs.

The Reds are currently valued at around £3.8 billion which is second only to Manchester United's £4.8 valuation, as per Sportico's 2023 report. United, who are one of the highest spenders in world football in the 21st century, would stand to see their valuation decrease if we follow Wyness' logic.