Kieran Maguire slams ‘sly’ Liverpool amid £150m claim
Liverpool and England’s other ‘big six’ clubs want “a closed shop” in the Champions League.
That is according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the “sly six” stalling on signing up to a new owners’ charter.
As per The Times‘ Martyn Ziegler (8 December), England’s ‘big six’ have so far failed to sign the agreement which ensures Champions League qualification can only be awarded on “current sporting merit”.
UEFA are currently considering a proposal which could allow two clubs per season to qualify for Europe based on ranking and historical results.
Liverpool owner John W Henry publicly apologised for involving the club in the failed European Super League in April – a competition that would have removed sporting merit.
When asked by Football Insider‘s Dylan Childs if the ‘big six’ have learned their lesson, Maguire said: “The ‘sly six’ want to de-risk their revenue streams.
“One way of doing that is going for things that are certainties.
“Given the amazing success of Premier League clubs in the Champions League in recent years, their coefficient is always going to be extremely high.
“Qualifying for the Champions League is worth a minimum of £30million in prize money. If you add on three home matches that will take it to £40million. If you go further in the competition it can go up to £150million.
“A closed shop it would create such a big gap in the Premier League. This is what the ‘sly six’ are after, a closed shop. They want a closed shop in the Champions League and they will do whatever they can to achieve their objectives.
“It has no sporting merit whatsoever. We have seen the reaction of fans but we have also seen the contempt to which football fans are held by club owners.”
In other news, Liverpool have been tipped to sign a Henderson replacement in ‘huge’ £60million-plus deal.