CRYSTAL PALACE owner Steve Parish disclosed he is considering purchasing a second football club to escape “desperately difficult rules”.
The South London side initially qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup, but were demoted to the Conference League over Uefa‘s multi-club ownership rules.
In an interview with The Athletic, Parish maintained Palace were wronged as they did not actually operate within a multi-club system.
He said: “This (the Squad Cost Ratio rules) is going to drive people to multi-club ownership (MCO).
“If you have one ecosystem that has to adhere to desperately difficult rules, why wouldn’t you go and get another club that lives in an ecosystem that doesn’t have any rules?
“We may look at getting a second club with these rules. It’s something that probably we’re going to have to do.”
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Current multi-club ownership models include BlueCo’s Chelsea and Strasbourg, INEOS’ Manchester United and OGC Nice, Tony Bloom‘s Brighton and Hearts as well as Evangelos Marinakis‘ Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos.
From the 2026/27 season, the new Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rule will limit Premier League clubs to spending only “85 per cent of football-related revenue and net profit/loss from player sales”.
In simple terms, clubs cannot spend more on transfers, wages and agent fees than 85 per cent of their total income.
The new rule has been introduced to reflect Uefa’s existing rules, which carries a stricter limit of 70 per cent.
While the SCR regulation was passed after a majority vote by Premier League clubs, Parish voted against the amendment.
He said: “I don’t know what was wrong with the league; that was our argument. What don’t you like about it? Why do you want just our group (of mid-table, aspirational clubs) to be able to spend less money?
“I hope we can get some amendments to it. Perhaps the most egregious thing is that even if you want to invest, you have to pay a fine to other clubs, and they will go to the big clubs.”
Parish’s concern stems from the new rules creating a wider divide between the “Big Six” teams and other clubs with lower revenue.
“With these new rules, selling is going to become a massive thing,” he added.
“Football should be worried that these clubs — Brentford, Brighton, Bournemouth, Fulham, and Leeds, probably the most aspirational clubs in the country — think something isn’t good for football.
“If there’s one spin on these new rules, it’s designed to encourage people to invest to increase their turnover. I don’t think that’s fair because not all clubs can.
“We’re lucky we’re in London. If we build a bigger stadium with more hospitality, we’ll likely sell it out. That isn’t the case for every other club.”
But after all they’ve been through, Parish thinks the club are in an improved position.
He said: “It’s the first time in its history it’s had that kind of capital base of owners — people who are prepared to invest in infrastructure.
“Anyone who thinks this is not a positive thing for the club after the ownership we’ve been through at this club over the years is mad.”
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