Kieran Maguire: Leeds may be ‘hit hard’ by Premier League revamp after Wenger update
Ambitious clubs like Leeds United could be hit hard by the introduction of an 18-team Premier League.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the knock-on effects of FIFA’s plans for the World Cup.
Ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, now FIFA’s head of global football development, unveiled plans for a biennial World Cup on 9 September.
But there has been fervent pushback from European clubs in particular, as well as from European football’s governing body, Uefa.
Leeds majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani is among those to have voiced his opposition, as has Man City chief executive Ferran Soriano.
Maguire told this site on 10 September that a biennial World Cup would likely lead to a redacted Premier League.
And the spreadsheet expert went into more detail about how a reduced English top-flight would affect Leeds financially.
He told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams: “An 18-team Premier League would hit ambitious clubs like Leeds hard.
“They have an excellent domestic fanbase and therefore benefit from having more matches in the Premier League.
“Both Project Big Picture and Super League would have introduced an 18-team Premier League.
“Under Big Picture, it would have allowed clubs to go and create their own pre-season tournaments.
“That would allow the Super League to have more fixtures itself. So the idea that there was any concern about player welfare is a total misnomer.
“It was because the likes of Liverpool or Man United don’t want to play Burnley and Crystal Palace anymore.”
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