The City position under the Premier League’s new Squad Cost Ratio rules, tracked throughout 2026/27 as transfers and new financial information change the picture.
Because clubs’ actual Squad Cost Ratio figures are not published in real time, every percentage and headroom figure on this page should be treated as an estimate. Where independent modelling is used, we identify the source. These are not confirmed Premier League or UEFA figures.
Last updated: 20 August 2026
How Squad Cost Ratio works
The Premier League has replaced Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) with a new Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) system for 2026/27.
The central Premier League threshold is 85% of relevant football income.
Broadly, SCR compares expenditure on player and head-coach wages, transfer amortisation and agents’ fees with relevant football income.
There is also a 115% red threshold. Spending above the 85% green threshold can lead to a financial levy, while reaching the higher threshold brings the possibility of sporting sanctions.
That distinction is key.
Being above 85% does not automatically mean a club has committed the type of breach supporters may associate with the old PSR system.
Nor is there an official public league table showing every club’s SCR position throughout the season. Any attempt to calculate City’s position during the campaign therefore inevitably involves estimates.
City also have UEFA’s stricter limit to consider
City’s position differs significantly from clubs outside European competition.
Because City are competing in UEFA competition, they must also comply with UEFA’s own squad-cost rule.
Under UEFA’s 2026 regulations, a club’s squad cost ratio must be no greater than 70%.
The UEFA calculation covers expenditure including player and coach employment costs, transfer amortisation and agents’ fees against an adjusted revenue calculation.
That means the Premier League’s 85% threshold cannot be viewed in isolation.
For City, UEFA’s 70% rule may ultimately represent the tighter financial constraint.
There is an important caveat, however: the Premier League and UEFA calculations are not identical. City’s estimated Premier League SCR cannot simply be compared like-for-like with UEFA’s 70% figure.
City’s latest published financial position
City’s latest audited accounts cover the 2024/25 season.
They show:
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | £694.1m |
| Payroll costs | £408.4m |
| Wage-to-revenue ratio | 58.8% |
| Player amortisation | £170m |
| Profit on player sales | £95.2m |
| Pre-tax result | £9.9m loss |
City reported revenue of £694.1m, their third-highest figure on record, despite an earlier Champions League exit contributing to lower broadcast income.
The £408.4m payroll figure produces a simple wage-to-revenue ratio of around 59%.
That, however, is not City’s Squad Cost Ratio.
SCR incorporates other costs, notably transfer amortisation and relevant agents’ fees, while the income side of the calculation also differs from conventional turnover.
Where City are estimated to stand now
Independent football-finance site PSRwatch currently models City’s 2026/27 Premier League position as follows:
| Measure | Current estimate |
| Relevant football income | £802m |
| Squad costs | £687m |
| Estimated Premier League SCR | 85.7% |
| Premier League green threshold | 85% |
| Premier League red threshold | 115% |
| Estimated amount above green | £5.9m |
| Estimated headroom to red | £235m |
Source: PSRwatch modelling. These figures are independent estimates rather than official Premier League calculations.
The headline figure is 85.7%.
That places City only marginally above the Premier League’s 85% green threshold.
PSRwatch estimates that City’s modelled squad costs are approximately £5.9m above the green line, while leaving around £235m of annual squad-cost headroom before the 115% red threshold.
That £235m figure needs careful interpretation.
It does not mean Manchester City have a £235m transfer budget.
It represents estimated annual squad-cost capacity before reaching the Premier League’s red threshold.
A £100m player signed on a five-year contract, for example, would not add £100m to one year’s SCR calculation. The transfer fee would ordinarily be spread across the contract through amortisation, before wages and other relevant costs were added.
Why City’s transfer business matters so much
City have undertaken a substantial reshaping of their squad this summer.
The biggest incoming deal has been Elliot Anderson, signed from Nottingham Forest for a club-record £116m.
City have simultaneously generated significant income and savings through departures.
Rodri has joined Barcelona, while Tijjani Reijnders completed his move to Al-Qadsiah on 19 August.
Other players have left or could yet depart as Enzo Maresca continues to reshape the squad.
The financial effect of those departures can be substantial because sales potentially help City’s SCR position in several ways.
They can:
- remove future wages;
- remove future amortisation associated with the player;
- and generate accounting profit where the selling price exceeds the player’s remaining book value.
That final point is particularly important.
Why player sales can create substantial SCR room
Transfer accounting is one reason City’s headline net spend does not tell the whole story.
When a player is purchased, the transfer cost is normally spread across his contract for accounting purposes.
When a player is sold, however, the accounting treatment is different.
Imagine City sell a player for £80m whose remaining book value is £20m.
The accounting profit would be approximately £60m, before associated transaction costs.
At the same time, his wages and remaining annual amortisation disappear from future squad costs.
This is why selling players efficiently can create considerably more financial flexibility than simply looking at transfer fees in and out might suggest.
What a Savinho sale could mean
Savinho is perhaps the clearest current example of that principle.
City and Tottenham have reportedly agreed the basis of a deal worth as much as €99m, with the Brazilian expected to undergo a medical once the remaining formalities are completed.
Because Savinho joined City for considerably less than the reported Tottenham fee, a sale at that level could potentially generate a substantial accounting profit.
It would also remove his wages and remaining amortisation from City’s future squad costs.
The exact SCR benefit cannot be calculated accurately until the transfer is completed and the final fee, contractual obligations and accounting treatment are known.
For that reason, we will not include the proposed Savinho transfer in the confirmed tracker until the deal is completed.
The Ayyoub Bouaddi question
City are also closing in on Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, with negotiations reported to have reached their final stages.
Any major incoming deal will increase City’s annual squad cost.
Again, however, the headline fee is not the amount that immediately enters the SCR calculation.
If City were to pay £80m for a player on a five-year contract, for example, the basic annual amortisation would be around £16m per season, before wages and other relevant costs.
That is the more useful figure when considering how a transfer affects financial headroom.
With Bouaddi, Manu Kone and other midfield options being considered following the departures of Rodri and Reijnders, City’s eventual squad-cost position could still change considerably before the transfer window closes.
Why City’s revenue remains their biggest advantage
The central reason City retain substantial spending power is straightforward: they generate enormous revenue.
Their £694.1m turnover in 2024/25 came despite a season in which broadcast income fell following an earlier Champions League exit.
PSRwatch’s forward model uses a relevant football-income base of approximately £802m for 2026/27.
Every increase in relevant revenue potentially increases the amount City can spend while maintaining the same SCR percentage.
Champions League progress therefore matters twice.
Success generates prize money and broadcast income in its own right, but can also increase the revenue base against which City’s squad expenditure is measured.
The same principle applies to commercial and matchday growth.
Why the Etihad expansion matters
City’s infrastructure development could become increasingly significant under SCR.
Additional matchday revenue, premium hospitality and commercial opportunities all have the potential to increase the club’s football-income base.
That does not mean infrastructure spending itself permits City to spend more on players.
But additional relevant revenue generated by that infrastructure can increase financial capacity.
Under a squad-cost system, sustainable revenue growth becomes one of the most effective ways of supporting greater expenditure on the playing squad.
That makes City’s stadium and commercial strategy directly relevant to their long-term ability to maintain one of Europe’s most expensive squads.
Which rule matters most for City?
This is probably the most important distinction between City’s tracker and that of a club outside European competition.
Under the Premier League system, City are currently estimated at around 85.7%, fractionally above the 85% green line but a long way below the 115% red threshold.
City also have UEFA’s 70% limit to satisfy.
The two calculations are not identical, so City’s estimated Premier League percentage cannot simply be measured against UEFA’s 70%.
Different reporting periods and adjustments apply.
Nevertheless, the principle is clear.
For a Champions League club such as City, the question is not simply:
“How close are they to the Premier League’s 115% line?”
It is also:
“Can the squad remain within UEFA’s tighter financial sustainability framework?”
That is why we will monitor both sets of regulations as this tracker develops.
What about City’s outstanding Premier League charges?
There is another important piece of context when discussing City’s finances.
City continue to await the outcome of the Premier League case relating to alleged breaches of its financial rules.
The club was originally charged in February 2023 with 115 alleged breaches relating primarily to a period between 2009 and 2018. City have consistently denied wrongdoing.
The independent commission hearing concluded in December 2024, but no verdict has yet been announced.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has acknowledged that the process had taken longer than expected and said he understood the frustration surrounding the delay, while stressing the need for confidentiality and due process.
It is important, however, not to confuse that case with City’s current Squad Cost Ratio position.
The outstanding case concerns alleged historical breaches of previous Premier League regulations, including financial reporting and co-operation requirements. SCR is the league’s new system governing squad expenditure from 2026/27.
Any eventual ruling could have significant consequences depending on the commission’s findings, but until a decision is published it would be wrong to assume either an adverse outcome or that City will be cleared.
For this tracker, City’s estimated SCR position is therefore assessed separately from the outstanding Premier League case.
So, can Man City still spend?
Yes — but City’s financial position cannot accurately be judged by net transfer spend alone.
Their enormous revenue base and ability to generate substantial profits from player sales provide considerable flexibility.
Independent Premier League modelling currently places City well below the red threshold at which sporting sanctions become a concern.
That does not mean they can spend without restriction.
Their estimated squad costs are already fractionally above the Premier League’s 85% green threshold, while UEFA imposes a significantly tighter 70% squad-cost limit on clubs competing in Europe.
Further additions therefore have to be considered alongside departures, wages, contract lengths, amortisation and player-sale profits.
The proposed Savinho transfer provides a good example.
Selling him for anything close to the figures currently being reported could materially alter City’s financial position despite the club simultaneously spending heavily on midfield reinforcements.
That is why simple net-spend figures tell only part of the story under the new rules.
Man City SCR tracker
| Measure | Current estimate |
| Premier League estimated SCR | 85.7% |
| Premier League green threshold | 85% |
| Premier League red threshold | 115% |
| Estimated amount above green | £5.9m |
| Estimated headroom to red | £235m |
| UEFA squad-cost limit | 70% |
| Premier League status | Marginally above green / well below red |
| Last updated | 20 August 2026 |
The Premier League figures above are based on independent PSRwatch modelling. They are not official Manchester City, Premier League or UEFA calculations. UEFA uses its own methodology and the 70% figure should not be directly compared with City’s estimated Premier League SCR percentage.
This tracker will be updated when transfers, wage changes, new accounts or other significant financial information materially alter City’s estimated position.
For more info on this and other City transfer deals and rumours, please take a look at our live transfer tracker.
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