THE CHAMPIONSHIP has been split in two by the plot to introduce a salary cap.
It has emerged that only ten of the division’s 24 clubs are involved in the proposals which would effectively create a breakaway group within English football’s second tier.
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Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa saw his table-toppers excluded from radical talksCredit: Getty Images – Getty
A video conference call was held between those concerned last Friday and SunSport can reveal the plan is for each team to agree a £20million total wage budget.
They would be free to spend that how and when they like as long as they do not exceed the limit.
The Championship’s big guns like Marcelo Bielsa’s table-toppers Leeds United, West Brom, Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Brentford are among those who have been excluded from discussions.
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The splinter group is made up mainly of teams who are described as ‘perennial Championship teams’ and who want to use coronavirus to reboot their finances.
Teams throughout the EFL have consistently warned that the suspension of football could jeopardise the very existence of some smaller clubs.
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EFL chairman Rick Parry has warned of a £200m ‘black hole’ facing his organisation as a direct result of the global pandemic.
Parry added that he believes the current system of ‘parachute payments’ to help clubs relegated from the Premier League leads to a massive distortion in financial clout.
Parry also claims wages in the Championship were on average six per cent higher than clubs’ income and it needs to be addressed.
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A source told SunSport: “A salary cap will suit some of the smaller teams in the Championship.
“They will be the ones who generally feel they have reached the ceiling of their realistic expectations — teams who don’t tend to be pushing for promotion to the Premier League.
“Other more notable teams wouldn’t want to sign up to a salary cap because they want to invest in trying to reach the top division.
“As a result they were not included in the talks last Friday and won’t be either going forwards.
“It’s not a snub — it’s just realistic economics and it’s so that nobody’s time is wasted.”
Leeds United suffered a £21m loss in their latest accounts coupled with a wage bill of £46.1m.
Second-placed West Brom shelled out even more with £46.8m and that was down from £92m in 2018 when the club competed in the Premier League.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
