Finance guru: Man City under pressure from sponsors as new Uefa plan emerges – ‘it’s a big deal’
Sponsors could pressurise Man City not to join a proposed new Uefa mini-tournament.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about European football’s governing body and their plans to expand the Super Cup.
The annual competition sees the winner of the Champions League take on the winner of the Europa League.
The Daily Mail reported last Friday (21 October) that Uefa are planning to expand and reformat the event into an eight-team tournament.
It is claimed that Uefa will initially invite the Champions League runners-up and the winners of the new Conference League before adding another four teams to create a week-long tournament if the idea is successful.
Significantly, the competition could be staged outside of Europe, allowing Uefa to capitalise on the global appeal of its biggest clubs.
But Plumley points out that the likes of City would not be happy about having to potentially cancel their lucrative pre-season tours to play in the tournament.
“You have got to look at all parties involved and the dynamics at play,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“If it’s run by Uefa, it’s likely there will be more money for the prize pot available or more money will go into the Champion League central pot.
“The clubs have been doing it themselves recently. They’ll go to America or Asia and play in pre-season tournaments. For the clubs, it’s about how much money will be offered by Uefa versus how much they can make on their own.
“The other side is that something will have to give in terms of fixture congestion. It depends on how the details are worked out.
“They might have to scrap their own pre-season tours, but commercial partners would have a vested interest in that.
“So, just from a scheduling point of view, something will have to give. Often, the biggest deal on the table will win out.“
In other news, Man City stance revealed as Super League relaunch plans confirmed.