Leeds considering legal action against Leicester following ruling on Everton PSR breach

Leeds United are considering taking legal action against Leicester City after Everton were ordered to pay Burnley £35million ($47m) for breaching financial rules.

Burnley sought damages after Everton were found to have breached the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) during the 2021-22 season, a campaign in which Burnley were relegated from the top flight.

Earlier this month, it was revealed the Lancashire club had been successful with their claim. The written reasons of the verdict published by the Premier League’s independent disciplinary commission showed Burnley were due £26m in damages and a further £9.1m in interest.

Everton say they are appealing against the decision and released a statement expressing their “surprise and anger” at the ruling, calling it “fundamentally flawed in both law and fact”.

The precedent set by that ruling has opened up routes to possible legal action between other clubs. As first reported by The Times, Leeds are weighing up their position in light of the PSR problems Leicester ran into while competing against the West Yorkshire club.

The Athletic has contacted Leicester for comment.

In 2022-23, Leicester finished one place above Leeds as they were both relegated from the Premier League. The following season, Leicester finished two places above Leeds and won the Championship title, while the latter lost in the play-off final and had to play another season in the second tier.

Leicester were given a six-point penalty in the Championship last season as a punishment for breaching spending rules in that title-winning 2023-24 campaign. City did, however, win an appeal in September 2024 against an alleged PSR breach for the 2022-23 season, as they argued the Premier League had acted outside of its jurisdiction.

Last year, Leeds and Everton reached their own out-of-court settlement with regard to the latter’s 2021-22 breach.