Limit tariff: who will benefit and who will suffer from the reduction of the quota of legionnaires in the RPL

Since the beginning of July, a new wave of discussion has begun on the eternal issue of limiting the quota of foreign players in the Russian championship. They want to tighten it up. And this caused a mixed reaction from the Russian football community. For more information about the new version of the limit, its supporters and opponents, as well as possible consequences, see the Izvestia article.

How it all started

The reason for concern was the insider of the "Championship" about the joint discussion by the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and the Russian Football Union to tighten the current limit on foreign players starting from the 2026/27 season.

One of the main options for the new limit is a quota according to the "5 +10" scheme: no more than 10 foreigners in the team's application for the season, of which no more than five can be on the field at the same time.

The current limit operates according to the "8 +13" scheme: up to 13 foreign players in the application and up to eight at the same time on the field. At the same time, citizens of the EAEU countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) are not considered foreigners in the field, but they remain in the application.

As of July 22, 2025, there are a total of 167 foreign players in the RPL teams. An average of 10.4 foreign players per team. It turns out that they are close to each other, which means that many clubs (especially from the "top" category) will have to part with some foreigners just to comply with the regulations.

Two options for tightening the limit

There are certain differences in the positions of the Ministry of Sports and the RFU on the issue of the new limit.

Mikhail Degtyarev's office wants to immediately switch to the "5+10" limit. The ministry explains its position by saying that this approach will allow us to find a balance between maintaining competition among domestic and foreign football players, but at the same time it will ensure sufficient playing time for young Russians who do not always have such an opportunity under the "8+13" scheme. With this, the Ministry of Sports wants to encourage clubs to invest in youth sports. The ministry is also not worried about reducing the number of foreign players in Russian football, as there are currently not many foreign stars in the country, which means there is no risk of reducing the entertainment and level of play of the teams.

As for the RFU's position, they want to implement a milder scenario of changing the limit with a gradual transition to the proposed quota, but at the same time immediately reduce the number of foreign players in the application from 13 to 10. But not immediately — on the field. First, 7+10 in the 2026/27 season, then 6+10 in the 2027/28 season, and finally 5+10 in the 2028/29 season.

So far, this issue is only at the stage of behind-the-scenes discussion, but all this clearly hints to us that starting next season the limit in Russia will be tightened. This means that the teams will need to prepare in advance for possible changes by resolving the issue of the departure of those foreign players who, according to their qualities and the opinion of the coaching staff of the clubs, will not be able to secure a place in the coveted quota of 10 players with a foreign passport.

Who is at risk

The issue of tightening the limit on foreign players will primarily affect the top RPL clubs, whose budget allows them to sign a considerable number of foreigners even in these difficult times (the Latin American market helps).

Zenit

Based on the application of the teams on the Transfermarkt portal, Zenit has the most legionnaires in its current squad — 16. According to the new limit, six people will need to be released. And, most likely, it will be Wendel, who has been trying to find a new club all summer after the transfer to Botafogo was disrupted; Robert Renan, who did not live up to Sergei Semak's hopes; Sasha Zdelar, who has 11 months left on his current contract; Mateo Casserra, who is being wooed to the Middle East; Gustavo Mantuan who recently became interested in Flamengo; as well as Wilmar Barrios, who will be almost 34 years old at the end of his contract.

Krasnodar

Krasnodar's situation is not much better. The reigning national champion realized that the strategy with 11 students, alas, has not been successful so far, and took the title with a large number of strong legionnaires. There are currently 15 of them at the disposal of the Bulls. For a long time there has been talk about the departure of Armenian midfielder Eduard Spertsyan to Europe, and the contract until the summer of 2026 seems to hint: it's time. So, potentially, Spertsyan can be excluded from the future Krasnodar squad under the new limit. Another candidate for the exit is 31—year-old Brazilian Victor Sa, who also has less than a year left on his current contract. It also makes sense for Krasnodar to part ways with 21-year-old Nigerian winger Ifeani Nduka, whose existence is unlikely to be known to all Krasnodar fans. The thing is, this guy does nothing but rent, and in three years of formal stay at the club, he played a paltry 24 minutes in the RPL. It will also be important for the Bulls to assess in a year the expediency of the Brazilian newcomer to the team, 31-year-old central defender Jubal, whose contract ends in the summer of 2027, as well as 32-year-old Colombian striker John Cordoba, for whom, in theory, you can still get good money.

CSKA

The third in the top in terms of the number of foreign players is CSKA. There are 14 of them at the current disposal of the "army". It is already obvious that the team does not need the services of three foreigners: Argentine striker Adolfo Gaich, Iranian left-back Amirhossein Ravandi and 20-year-old Algerian midfielder Sid Ahmed Aissaoui. Plus, the issue of selling a 21-year-old talent from Uzbekistan, attacking midfielder Abbosbek Fayzullaev, is now being resolved. And just minus four players, CSKA will meet the new limit.

Dynamo Moscow

This is followed by Dynamo Moscow, which has 13 foreign players at its disposal. First, it's time to put all the dots on the situation with Colombian attacking midfielder Jorge Carrascal, whose transfer to Flamengo is still delayed. Dynamo should also think about the feasibility of extending contracts with age-related foreign players: 32-year—old Uruguayan left-back Diego Laxalt and 31-year-old Cameroonian winger Moumi Ngamale, both of whom have contracts ending next summer. And now the 10 legionnaires required by the regulations will remain.

"Spartak"

Spartak has 12 foreigners now. So, we need to exclude two people. The first in line is 28—year-old Paraguayan winger Jesus Medina. So far, the player's representatives have been unable to find a new club for him due to the player's high salary demands. At the same time, Spartak itself does not want to be the initiator of the termination of the contract, which ends in the summer of 2026. We also need to resolve the issue of striker Manfred Ugalde. The 23-year-old Costa Rican, who scored 17 goals last RPL season, has attracted the attention of a number of foreign clubs — in particular, there has been talk of Dutch Feyenoord recently.

Who will benefit from the new limit

And only one top RPL club will have no problems with the new limit if it maintains its current strategy. We are talking about Lokomotiv, which was ahead of its time and has already bet on Russian players. The Railwaymen have only four foreign players at their disposal, only one of whom, 28—year-old Mexican central defender Cesar Montes, was in the starting lineup for the first round match of the new RPL season against Sochi. The remaining 10 starting players represented Russia. And this did not prevent them from defeating the Black Sea team that returned to the "elite" (3:0). So Lokomotiv will obviously be happy with the new rules. He might even increase his chances for higher places in the championship.

Do I need to tighten the limit

Yes, someone will say that with a reduction in the number of foreign players, the teams and, as a result, our entire football will lose in quality, and prices for Russian players will skyrocket, and this will not always be justified solely by playing qualities. And he will be right, but only partially.

First of all, the new limit format is a kind of call to action. A call for the academies of the clubs to develop the infrastructure, improve the coaching staff in order to grow as many of their local, Russian guys as possible for the main team. Zenit, for example, has a high-level academy, which is noticeable by the large representation of academy students in various RPL and First League clubs. And with the new limit, the chance that these players will primarily benefit their hometown club will increase. Of course, with the proper attitude of both the coaches and the players themselves.

And if there are more and more such players in our championship, then prices for them will normalize over time, since most teams will not poach talented players from competitors, but will train their own.

And this will be good for the Russian national team in the future, which, believe me, will definitely be returned to international competitions sooner or later. You can't naturalize Brazilians.