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Premier League bosses are convinced Manchester United and Liverpool will use the threat of a separatist European league as a lever to agree on a revised version of the Project Big Picture.
Reports that both United and Liverpool have been involved in secret talks about plans to establish a new continental divide involving the biggest clubs from across Europe have been the subject of controversy from the pair’s national rivals.
Sources claim that senior club executives are increasingly angered by the covert nature of United and Liverpool’s conduct in their apparent pursuit of greater power shares at the national and European level.
The credibility of Tuesday’s report was dismissed by European football’s governing body UEFA, but interestingly, FIFA, which has been linked to the elite flight, has not denied the claims.
And it is understood that Premier League bosses fear United and Liverpool will use the notion of a new European league, and their possible involvement in it, as a pawn in the upcoming high-level strategy review.
There is widespread recognition that the Premier League would lose much of its appeal without a United and Liverpool in full force, which are historically recognized as two of the biggest clubs on the planet.
There are emerging concerns that the giant clubs will use the lure of a separatist league, which would leave its participation in the Premier League under a cloud, to duplicate their proposals to revamp the way English football works.
The Premier League confirmed last week that the controversial Project Big Picture proposals, which were led by United and Liverpool, had been unanimously rejected by the Football Association and themselves.
But it was also confirmed that the Premier League was committed to a strategic overhaul, on which United and Liverpool will seek to have great influence and the threat of a new league abroad appears to be used as a bargaining chip in the upcoming discussions.
Speaking on Wednesday, Aston Villa boss Dean Smith spoke of his concern, saying: ‘Maybe next week it’s a World League, who knows?
“The Premier League itself is the most watched league, the most entertaining league in the world right now and everyone is a little envious of the applause it receives and the audience figures it gets. With all that also comes a great deal of money.
“It is a fantastic competition, one that I have only been in for one season and one that has been very enjoyable and we have a decent national structure.
“It’s a great show for everyone to see right now, so why change?”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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