Liverpool and Manchester United are in talks to join a new FIFA-backed tournament known as the European Premier League, according to Sky Sports
Sky Sports are also reporting that financiers are to give $6 billion(£4.6 billion) in funding to assist the creation of the league.
As many as five English clubs could sign up to join it, with other teams from France, Germany, Italy and Spain currently reportedly in negotiations to become founding members of the competition.
Liverpool and Manchester in Talks Regarding New European Premier League
How Would it Work?
The new format, which has been developed by FIFA, would be expected to comprise up to 18 teams. Fixtures would be played during the regular European season.
The top-placed teams would then play in a knockout format to conclude the overall winners. The prize money for winning this competition is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds each year.
The league would be likely to feature either 16 or 18 teams, and although details haven’t been finalised, it would likely mean a minimum of 30 matches for each club, based on teams playing each other home and away.
If this was happen, it would effectively end UEFA’s Champions League competition. However, at this moment it is unclear whether the new tournament even has the backing from UEFA. The Champions League existing format is also locked in place until 2024, with expansions possible after that.
It is expected that this league would not be a breakaway from domestic leagues.
Previous Plans
An earlier plan was reported in German news two years ago. These plans featured 11 ‘founding teams’ who could not be relegated from the league for the first 20 years, however the remaining teams would be able to be replaced yearly based upon their league position.
Project Big Picture
This news comes during a time where the landscape of English football seems to be changing. Both Liverpool and Manchester United looked to engineer a new proposal which would have seen the biggest clubs get handed more power, whilst also providing money for teams in lower divisions during COVID-19.
This proposal, dubbed as Project Big Picture, would have also seen England’s top flight reduced from 20 teams to 18.
The plans were abandoned last week, however. Now it looks like both Liverpool and United are looking to not just reshape English football, but also football globally.
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