Kieran Maguire: Liverpool in ‘dominant position’ amid £160m behind-the-scenes ‘war’
Liverpool and their allies are in a “dominant position” financially after it was revealed that the Premier League are hesitant to agree to the EFL’s redistribution demands.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the ongoing negotiations between the two major footballing organisations.
Chief executives from the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association met face-to-face last Friday (6 January) to discuss the fixture calendar, an independent regulator and the financial distribution in the English league pyramid.
The EFL are seeking £300million from the Premier League to spread throughout the lower divisions, but reports suggest they are “not hopeful” of achieving a settlement with the top flight preferring a £160million figure.
Liverpool earned £41.8million just from prize money for their second-place finish last season, with the Premier League currently paying out £2.2million per position.
Maguire insists the Premier League would offer the EFL even less if there wasn’t the threat of a government-backed independent regulator lingering in the background of negotiations.
“The Premier League is definitely in a dominant position when it comes to negotiations with the EFL.
“If not for the government white paper, it is highly likely that the Premier League would only be offering crumbs from under the table.
“But the fear of the white paper giving an independent regulator significant teeth has led the Premier League to be slightly more generous with regards to redistribution.
“The big problem is that, within the Premier League itself, there is a war taking place – the ‘Big Six’ clubs are reluctant to give up any money from their Uefa earnings.
“The other 14 clubs feel this is unfair as the existing gap is increasing, with the revenue gap sitting around £300m.
“If more money was to go to the EFL, this would disproportionately hit the smaller clubs, especially with the expansion of the Champions League in 2024-25.“
In other news, Football Insider sources reveal Liverpool have pulled the plug on Naby Keita after talks break down