Overview

• Premier League clubs have voted to limit the period over which a player's transfer fee can be spread in their accounts to five years, regardless of the length of their contract.
• This rule change will not be backdated to include transfers that have already happened or contracts already signed.
• The new rule brings the Premier League in line with UEFA, which set its own five-year limit on transfer fee amortisation in June.
• Chelsea, in particular, has been known to give players contracts of up to eight-and-a-half years to spread the huge costs of their transfers over the full length of the deal.
• The new rule could potentially impact Chelsea's transfer strategy, as the club's owners have looked to spread out the cost of transfers across up to eight years.