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Who is Rick Parry? The Liverpool fan who has served as CEO at Anfield and the Premier League has had too many bright ideas: The EFL president is at the center of the Project Big Picture storm.
- Sportsmail’s Jack Gaughan profiles EFL President Rick Parry in the middle of a major storm
- Liverpool’s childhood fan is trying to gain support to empower the top six
- He negotiated the largest television rights deal in history at the time as a senior boss.
Rick Parry’s grandparents lived a few minutes’ walk from Anfield and he spent his formative years on those streets on weekends.
He would become Liverpool’s chief executive for 12 years, presiding that night in Istanbul and would only vacate the position once relations with divisive American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett became irreparable.
So it’s no wonder Liverpool’s childhood supporter Parry has lined up in Project Big Picture brainstorming. Manchester United, the other club pushing for large-scale changes in the football pyramid, is an institution that it has always respected, if not liked.
EFL President Rick Parry is a childhood Liverpool fan and its former CEO
There is no one better suited to address the issues facing the sport from top to bottom than Parry
On the face of it, there is no better person to tackle the problems facing the sport from top to bottom than Parry, who was named EFL president 13 months ago.
Given his prominence in the formulation of the Premier League in 1992, he is well aware of the ramifications that a major structural change can bring about. As CEO of the top flight, he negotiated the largest television rights deal in history at the time, 700 million pounds, and the division prospered.
Before that, he had been a consultant to the Football League, and in the months leading up to the first Premier League season, he faced an all-out war over finances and how the money would be distributed.
The same problems remain nearly three decades later, as Parry tries to garner enough support for his bold plan that shifts power to the top six.
Parry told the Premier League Independent in 2018: ‘Transparency is key as each club has only one vote and there are no sub-committees. This means that there is adequate responsibility. ‘
Parry was prominent in formulating the Premier League in 1992 and negotiated major deals
Parry is trying to get enough support for his bold plan that shifts power to the top six
How it got here is interesting. Parry, who was criticized by some at Liverpool for inviting all staff members to Turkey for the 2005 Champions League final and thus leaving the club’s megastore empty the day after that win, has held prominent positions within of European football.
He was elected to the board of directors of the European Club Association, while serving on UEFA’s financial fair play and club licensing control board.
That included the investigation into Manchester City’s alleged infractions, which was ultimately dismissed on appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There is certainly no love lost between City and Parry.
He is now a key figure in the future of sport. In a letter to EFL owners on Sunday, Parry described the proposals as “developed in close collaboration with various clubs.” Some eyebrows were raised when it became clear that discussions about Project Big Picture had started in 2017.
