Major reforms of football have moved a step closer after European sports ministers agreed to a raft of proposals including controls on how much clubs can pay for players’ wages and transfers.

BIG-SPENDING clubs could face curbs on how much they pay for players’ wages and transfers under proposals being considered by the game’s leaders and European sports ministers.

Clubs could face limits on how much they can spend on players’ wages and transfers under a plan being considered by the game’s leaders and European sports ministers.

A review of European football will back efforts to limit the number of foreign players in English football when it is published tomorrow.

UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson fears European football could be “taken hostage” by a criminal element if it fails to rewrite its rule book. He hopes an Independent Review of European Football, launched in London yesterday, will trigger the much-needed changes.