Manchester United’s pursuit of Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite demonstrates exactly what is wrong with PSR

It’s clear that the bylaws are in place to keep those at the top, and so far it’s working well.

However, the latest thing to come out of it actually concerns Manchester United’s bid for Jarrad Branthwaite, as it brutally revealed what a joke the system really is.

Manchester United make first bid for Jarrad Branthwaite

After seeing a £35million bid submitted earlier this week, Evertonians laughed at such a pitiful figure.

It was insulting to let the Toffees down in such dramatic fashion, but it was clearly done with an element of naughtiness.

After all, June 30 marks the final PSR deadline, where teams must have sold enough players to balance their book. Failure to do so could result in further penalties for the upcoming Premier League campaign.

So the decision to offer such a pitiful sum is clearly an analysis of their well-documented financial problems and an acknowledgment that the Red Devils feel that since Everton need to sell, they will take what they can get.

This is exactly what is wrong with PSR.

PSR hold Everton back unfairly

How can a set of rules designed to encourage fairer competition be used as a bargaining chip when a bigger club goes fishing in the market?

It’s ridiculous, as an amazing and hilarious example of where the main problems of the system lie.

Not to mention that Manchester United are a club under mountains of debt, with the official figure being £773.3m as of March 2024, compared to Everton’s £330.6m.

The fact that a club nearly a billion pounds in debt can pay less for Sean Dyche’s star man because the rules omit certain financial parameters further demonstrates why this system is unfit for purpose.

It allows those at the top to continue to prosper and forces those with ambition to sell prized assets or pay the price.

The sooner this archaic system is removed, the better.

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