The Premier League have asked Uefa to look at third-party ownership of players, as the European body prepare to implement their Financial Fair Play rules (FFP).
Third-party ownership has allowed some clubs in Europe to buy players whilst minimising transfer costs, but these deals are banned in the Premier League.
The current Financial Fair Play Regulations (FFPR) favour third-party arrangements, with the Premier League stating: “Having no prohibition on third-party ownership seems at odds with the FFPR principles.”
The top-flight regulator believes the current situation is unfair on English clubs, especially with the limitations on transparent owner equity investment, where a club is funded substantially by wealthy investors.
With third-party transfers banned in the English game, the Premier League feels its teams are at a disadvantage when competing in Europe.
This process is particularly common in South America and parts of Europe, whereby a club buys a player for a percentage of the price, in the hope that one day that percentage can be sold off for a larger profit.
Such deals were banned in top-flight football in England however following the controversy surrounding Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano joining West Ham in 2006 to “protect the integrity of the competition.”
“It may well be for Uefa to make a decision on whether third-party ownership revenue and cost benefits afforded to non-Premier League clubs should be excluded at least for FFPR compliance,” lawyer Daniel Geey of Field Fisher Waterhouse told BBC Sport.
“The issue for Premier League clubs wanting to play in Uefa competitions is that they could be at a disadvantage in trying to adhere to FFPR.
“This is because non-Premier League clubs may have lower transfer amortisation charges, the process of accounting for an asset’s cost over a number of years, as they can spread their transfer fee risk among third-party owners.”
FFP comes into play from the beginning of the 2013-2014 season, and requires clubs to lose no more than £38 million in total over the next three seasons.
Failure to do so could mean clubs are denied a licence to play in Europe and therefore would miss out on the Champions League or Europa League competition.