Nick de Marco: ‘The Godfather of PSR’ wants clubs to spend more

Strangely, for someone who has acted in so many high-profile PSR cases, De Marco is not a fan of the rules.

Rather than the current situation, which is poised to change anyway when the planned ‘anchoring’ around the turnover of the lowest-ranked clubs comes in next season, De Marco feels there should be a loose upper spending limit to encourage competition and investment.

And he does not feel the advent of so-called state-run clubs necessarily means everyone should cut back.

“There is nothing unsustainable about how Manchester City, Newcastle or other [similarly owned] clubs are run. They are very sustainable,” De Marco said.

“The new point people are making is about competition. I understand there may need to be some upper caps. But let’s not get diverted into this argument about whether it is state-owned or not, which, of course, there are legal points about.

“Imagine if Elon Musk bought a club in the Premier League. He must have a personal wealth of more than many states in the world now.

“You see how he has taken over Twitter, now X, and completely changed it. He is very powerful. Would it be any different if it was a private individual or a state? I think the focus on state is a bit of a mistake.

“I think owners should be allowed to invest a bit more money if they want to but they have to guarantee it so they can’t just pull the plug.”

De Marco feels the money is now so big in top-level football that an increase in legal cases is bound to happen because there is so much to lose.

And, having seen the collapse of the European Super League within 48 hours in 2021, he feels another breakaway competition will eventually be launched.

“The European Super League blueprint just did not work,” he said. “But something else will come along at the right moment and it may work,” he said.

“Don’t forget, the Premier League was a breakaway league. It was opposed at the time and seen as a few greedy clubs at the top ruining English football.

“But it is actually, despite all the criticisms people have of it, been the most successful football league in the world and brought more money into English football than anything else.

“Breakaway leagues aren’t necessarily a bad thing and they are inevitable as more money comes in and more competitions globalise.”