Manchester City’s push to curb New Deal levy rise sparks debate

Manchester City have lodged a revised proposal that caps the Premier League domestic transfer levy rise at a single percentage point, directly targeting the £1.5 billion New Deal funding under discussion with the English Football League. The submission arrives as the Deal debate intensifies and follows the club’s reservations about the scale of the increase.

The New Deal is designed as a ten‑year framework to safeguard the financial sustainability of professional football in England, with its primary mechanism an increase of the levy from four to six per cent of all top‑flight transfer fees.

City’s revised terms would limit the increase to one percentage point rather than the two‑point rise currently on the table, meaning the club would contribute less than under the original proposal that envisages a 50 per cent hike in the domestic levy.

Manchester City are among a small group of Premier League clubs that have expressed reservations about the scale of the increase, yet they have stressed they are not opposed to the broader principle of a new funding settlement with the EFL. At least one other top‑flight side is reported to back City’s approach, while a different club has floated an alternative that caps the total revenue generated by the higher levy before reverting to the existing four‑per‑cent rate.

Financial details of the Deal outline an initial annual payment to the EFL of less than £100 million for the 2026‑27 season, rising to £164 million by the third year and remaining at that level for the remainder of the decade; a separate £20 million lifeboat fund is also proposed for clubs entering administration.

The proposal arrives amid City’s ongoing legal case concerning 115 alleged breaches of financial rules. Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the levy issue is separate from that dispute, adding a layer of sensitivity to the club’s public positioning.

For the New Deal to be approved, the Premier League must secure a 14‑vote majority before the 2026‑27 season begins, and City’s counter‑proposal, along with other alternatives, will need to be reconciled into a final structure that satisfies the required clubs.