Manchester City are spearheading opposition to a Premier League plan that would send £1.5bn to the English Football League over the next decade, setting up a showdown vote among the 20 top-flight clubs on Thursday.

The proposed package — known as the "New Deal for Football" — would average £150m a year across 10 seasons, starting with an initial £100m payment for the 2026-27 campaign and ramping up in later years through to 2035-36. The EFL, which runs the three divisions directly below the Premier League (the Championship, League One and League Two), would channel 80% of the money to Championship clubs, 12% to League One and 8% to League Two, according to The Guardian.

City's objection is financial. The Premier League wants to fund the redistribution by raising the levy on transfer fees from 4% to 6% — meaning clubs that spend the most on signings would carry the largest share of the bill. City, who alongside the rest of the so-called Big Six are the league's biggest spenders, have put forward a counterproposal and are not alone in their concerns. Other Big Six clubs share the unease about shouldering a disproportionate cost.

This is not City's first attempt to reshape the debate. At the Premier League's AGM in June, the club submitted a series of late amendments to proposed rule changes and was defeated by 19 votes to one — a result that suggests their arguments have so far failed to land with fellow clubs.

Passing the deal requires 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs to vote in favour. Despite the opposition, the Premier League is described as "cautiously optimistic" about reaching that threshold. The plan also needs to satisfy the EFL itself. EFL chair Rick Parry is believed to be holding out for a bigger deal than the one currently on the table. A previous offer of £750m over five years was proposed in September 2023 and never resolved.

Football chiefs are also scheduled to hold talks with the independent football regulator regarding the New Deal, Sky News reported. The regulator's involvement adds a layer of external pressure to negotiations that have dragged on for years without resolution.

For fans of clubs outside the Premier League, the stakes are straightforward. Lower-league clubs operate on a fraction of the budgets enjoyed by their top-flight counterparts, and a guaranteed share of Premier League wealth would offer stability that matchday income and broadcasting deals alone cannot provide. The argument against, from the biggest spenders' perspective, is equally plain: they are being asked to fund the competition they already subsidise through that transfer levy.

Both Manchester City and the Premier League declined to comment on the story.

What happens on Thursday will shape the financial relationship between the top of English football and everything below it for the next decade. Whether 14 clubs agree on that relationship — and whether the EFL accepts the terms — remains the question.