The Premier League is operating a de facto salary cap. The provision was introduced by the clubs in 2013 and it has revolutionised the top flight, transformed the balance of power between clubs and players, and is described by some insiders as the biggest change in the domestic game since the introduction of the Bosman rule. It is also English football’s best-kept secret.

The precise details are, like all such things, complex, but the underlying logic of the provision is crystal clear. We have all heard of Financial Fair Play (FFP), which was introduced by Uefa in 2012 and a version of which was also introduced in the Premier League in 2013. For all the small print, FFP is essentially a break-even requirement: clubs shouldn’t