It probably is.
When the EPL was formed the top spending club was spending in a season what one decent player costs now, breaking transfer records tends to inflate the whole market.
United have been the biggest spenders in the EPL on five occasions, Chelsea I think are top with nine seasons, now closely followed by City, all paying inflated prices for some average players.
Hence if clubs want to get to the top and have the money to spend, and are allowed to spend it without question and frequent checks, it breeds corruption and rule breaking.
It happens in every (most) sports until retrospective punishment is administered, an athlete is found out to be cheating in one way or another, an inquiry is held, and in most cases is stripped of the rewards, he/she is just an individual.
The sport most akin to the EPL is football, all of the big five teams have been caught "cheating" in some way or another, have any of them been thrown out of the sport?
F1 needs the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mclaren more than they need F1.
The same goes for the EPL, we shall have to wait until at least December to find out.