Why 'The Godfather' of PSR wants clubs to spend more money

Nick de Marco has ne'er scored a Premier League goal. He has ne'er saved a changeable oregon claimed an assist. He has ne'er managed successful the competition.

Nevertheless, De Marco KC is 1 of the astir important figures successful the existent ineligible soap opera of English football. If you person a problem, you privation 'The Godfather' of shot concern instrumentality connected your side.

His astir caller occurrence was past period connected behalf of erstwhile Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy successful his £11m assertion for unpaid wages from his aged club.

But it is De Marco's enactment successful the analyzable country of Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) - besides referred to arsenic Financial Fair Play (FFP) - that has led to him being christened 'The Godfather' by his ain chambers, Blackstone.

It was De Marco who led Leicester's defence erstwhile they were charged by the Premier League. Much to the league's disappointment, an autarkic sheet decided it had nary jurisdiction to clasp the lawsuit - sparing the Foxes a imaginable points deduction.

In the FFP sphere alone, helium has besides acted for Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, Bournemouth and Queens Park Rangers, the nine helium has supported since helium was a boy.

Overall, helium estimates helium has worked for much than fractional of the Premier League's clubs successful assorted forms. De Marco says much than fractional his cases ne'er scope the nationalist domain.

"I don't bash immoderate of the fun, interesting, truly hard things - but shot has changed a lot," helium told BBC Sport.

"When I started successful sports instrumentality it was astir a hobby. You would either beryllium doing it pro-bono - for escaped - oregon due to the fact that you were funny successful it, which is wherefore I did it, due to the fact that I recovered it fascinating.

"Now determination is overmuch much enactment and overmuch higher stakes and I americium precise fortunate to person recovered myself successful the mediate of it. Legal disputes person become, for bully oregon bad, truthful important now, often for the endurance of clubs."

In this interrogation with BBC Sport, De Marco discusses:

Either due to the fact that they are taxable to entreaty oregon due to the fact that of elemental confidentiality issues, De Marco is not capable to spell into item astir galore of the cases helium has worked on.

Those see erstwhile Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey being charged with making a Nazi salute connected a nine nighttime retired successful 2019. The lawsuit was yet recovered not proven.

But helium does person beardown opinions astir however sports instrumentality operates.

The Mendy lawsuit was antithetic because, arsenic it was an employment tribunal, it was heard successful public.

Most cases are not, including Manchester City's conflict with the Premier League implicit their alleged 115 breaches of fiscal rules.

De Marco feels that is incorrect and tin pb to confusion.

"In the past, everything was down closed doors," helium said. "Decisions were made with nary due transparency astatine all, with nary owed process.

"It has gradually moved connected arsenic commercialisation, much wealth and much professionalism has travel in.

"But a batch of sports regulators are precise frightened of losing control. They deliberation the champion mode of having power is to bash things secretly. My presumption is that doesn't enactment successful the agelong run. It makes radical suspicious of you.

"I don't cognize what is going connected successful the Manchester City lawsuit but let's ideate a uncovering comes retired aboriginal saying they preferred the grounds of 1 witnesser to different oregon that they thought idiosyncratic was lying to them oregon idiosyncratic said an arbitrator was biased.

"We person nary mode of knowing that oregon investigating it. It is overmuch amended to beryllium unfastened and transparent."

After their contiguous promotion backmost from the Championship, Leicester went into the existent run nether menace of a hefty points deduction arsenic they had been charged by the Premier League successful March with exceeding the permitted £105m three-year nonaccomplishment limit.

The lawsuit was thrown retired successful September, with the Premier League saying the autarkic panel's mentation "failed to instrumentality into relationship the intent of the rules".

Many observers felt the 57-year-old had exploited a loophole. It is simply a mentation helium rejects.

"That wasn't a loophole," helium said. "It is simply a precise elemental point. The Premier League should ne'er person brought the lawsuit successful the archetypal place."

Which brings america to the revised rules astir Associated Party Transactions, agreed by a ballot astatine the Premier League gathering connected 22 November contempt beardown absorption from Manchester City and Aston Villa.

Speaking earlier the ballot took place, De Marco said helium had immoderate sympathy with City's assertion that rushing done authorities was a mistake.

"People shouldn't unreserved to alteration rules," helium said. "I person seen this successful the Football League and Premier League a lot.

"Two oregon 3 years down the line, you get the Premier League furious Leicester person won their case, saying it was due to the fact that of a loophole successful the rules. But they were the rules the Premier League wrote."

On Manchester City's 115 charges, De Marco says it is "difficult" to spot a "way out" from the "hostility betwixt the Premier League and Manchester City", which helium says has "become truthful entrenched".

"It is simply a shame it has led to this. Hopefully shot volition propulsion itself together," helium added.

"There is simply a fearfulness from galore antithetic sides, I think, that the grade of the civilian warfare going connected successful the Premier League truly needs to decorativeness soon.

"If each the clubs commencement suing each different and they are each falling retired and not agreeing with immoderate rules due to the fact that they are each looking aft their ain self-interest, the merchandise itself volition suffer."

De Marco is simply a "convert" to the thought of an independent regulator coming in to "stop the wars" astir the backing pyramid successful English football.

"It seems to maine that erstwhile the league makes its ain rules, its clubs ballot successful their ain short-term self-interest," helium said.

"Most radical would invited the thought of greater transparency and greater instrumentality involvement."

De Marco gives "credit" to the occurrence of the Premier League but adds that it should "listen to its critics a spot more" astir engaging with a caller regulator.

Strangely, for idiosyncratic who has acted successful truthful galore high-profile PSR cases, De Marco is not a instrumentality of the rules.

Rather than the existent situation, which is poised to alteration anyhow erstwhile the planned 'anchoring' astir the turnover of the lowest-ranked clubs comes successful adjacent season, De Marco feels determination should beryllium a escaped precocious spending bounds to promote contention and investment.

And helium does not consciousness the advent of alleged state-run clubs needfully means everyone should chopped back.

"There is thing unsustainable astir however Manchester City, Newcastle oregon different [similarly owned] clubs are run. They are precise sustainable," De Marco said.

"The caller constituent radical are making is astir competition. I recognize determination whitethorn request to beryllium immoderate precocious caps. But let's not get diverted into this statement astir whether it is state-owned oregon not, which, of course, determination are ineligible points about.

"Imagine if Elon Musk bought a nine successful the Premier League. He indispensable person a idiosyncratic wealthiness of much than galore states successful the satellite now.

"You spot however helium has taken implicit Twitter, present X, and wholly changed it. He is precise powerful. Would it beryllium immoderate antithetic if it was a backstage idiosyncratic oregon a state? I deliberation the absorption connected authorities is simply a spot of a mistake.

"I deliberation owners should beryllium allowed to put a spot much wealth if they privation to but they person to warrant it truthful they can't conscionable propulsion the plug."

De Marco feels the wealth is present truthful large successful top-level shot that an summation successful ineligible cases is bound to hap due to the fact that determination is truthful overmuch to lose.

And, having seen the illness of the European Super League wrong 48 hours successful 2021, helium feels different breakaway contention volition yet beryllium launched.

"The European Super League blueprint conscionable did not work," helium said. "But thing other volition travel on astatine the close infinitesimal and it whitethorn work," helium said.

"Don't forget, the Premier League was a breakaway league. It was opposed astatine the clip and seen arsenic a fewer greedy clubs astatine the apical ruining English football.

"But it is actually, contempt each the criticisms radical person of it, been the astir palmy shot league successful the satellite and brought much wealth into English shot than thing else.

"Breakaway leagues aren't needfully a atrocious happening and they are inevitable arsenic much wealth comes successful and much competitions globalise."