Kieran Maguire: Leeds United £44m payout at risk after landmark deal agreed
Leeds United and other EFL clubs face delays to a £44million payment from the Premier League after they halted talks over the ‘New Deal’.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that Premier League clubs are ‘at war’ over how to distribute cash to the rest of the football pyramid.
As reported by Sky News on 26 December, the Premier League have halted talks around the ‘New Deal’ due to funding disputes.
Premier League CEO Richard Masters told top-flight clubs it does ‘not have a mandate’ to sign off on the £881million deal that had been agreed.
The agreement was lowered from £925million to £881million with £44million set to be paid up front by the 20 Premier League clubs.
However, the deal now faces new delays with the updated terms still not expected to receive the 14 votes necessary to pass.
Maguire believes the delays are an added frustration for Leeds United given that they were taken over by new owners in the summer.
“The Premier League is the most successful football competition on the planet,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“But it’s also the greediest and the withdrawal to cooperate in the ‘New Deal’ with the EFL is a sign of that.
“It’s a sign that Premier League clubs are at war with one another in terms of how additional money is going to be split to clubs in the EFL, such as Leeds United.
“It’s very frustrating that the Premier League has halved the initial £88million that was on offer, and it now seems to be delaying the £44million for 2023/24 that it had indicated it would be paying as recently as December.
“It’s very frustrating for clubs such as Leeds, especially given that they are under new ownership.
“The Premier League is more concerned with internal fighting than it is in terms of its responsibilities towards the broader football landscape.“
In other news, Leeds United star in advanced talks to agree deal