Man United and Chelsea speak out in meeting as Newcastle United left with PSR 'ball and chain'

Newcastle United are walking with a 'ball and chain' around their ankle because of PSR - which will make it difficult if not 'impossible' for the Magpies to bridge the gap.

That is the view of football finance expert Kieran Maguire after 16 rival clubs voted in favour of the amendments to the Premier League's associated party transaction (APT) rules. These regulations ensure all commercial deals with companies linked to a club's owners are independently assessed to establish they are of fair market value.

Newcastle joined Manchester City, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in voting against the proposals during a meeting of top-flight shareholders in London on Friday. Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada and James Bonington, Chelsea's general counsel, in contrast, both spoke up in favour of the changes.

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The Premier League, in a statement, reiterated these rules were introduced to provide a 'robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the league'. Maguire found that final point 'baffling' and the football finance expert suggested 'that is the exact opposite of their imposition' as they 'lock in existing spending gaps' between clubs. So can Newcastle still bridge the gap?

"Newcastle can't spend the amount of money that the owners want to spend given the constraints of St James' Park and the fact that they are clearly in a growth phase commercially," he told ChronicleLive. "There's an awful lot of catching up to do considering that Manchester City's commercial income is well over £300m. PSR effectively means you're walking with a ball and chain around your ankle for a club like Newcastle so it's difficult but not impossible."