Gold Coast United owner Clive Palmer has called for the A-League salary cap to be scrapped. "It's something I'd like to see change in time so we can compete on more of an equal footing," Palmer, Australia's richest man with a fortune estimated at $5 billion, told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

"A lot of people like the competitiveness of our league, but it's a contrived competiveness.

"I would like to see clubs develop more naturally, and the salary cap is an impediment to that.

"You look at the Japanese League, and the fact they are free to work within any budget they are capable of achieving.

"You have to salute the likes of Adelaide for reaching the ACL final when they function on a fraction of (the money of) Gamba Osaka."

Despite his reservations at being restricted from unleashing the full weight of his wallet, a supremely confident Palmer is convinced United will win the A-League in their debut season, before hitting Asia with typhoon-like intensity.

"We have the best team in the A-League and will lift the standard of the competition by about 300 per cent," trumpeted Palmer in trademark provocative fashion.

"We'll come back from our pre-season tour (matches against the Singapore national team, a top Japan club side and Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan FC are in the pipeline) and we'll show that for us the A-League is pretty mundane.

"We're taking it one step at a time.

"We'll win the A-League, the Asian Champions, then we'll look at the World Club Cup."