Sunderland news: Kieran Maguire rubbishes ‘£100m’ Rick Parry finance claim
The League Cup can provide vital revenue for the likes of Sunderland – and there is no need for it to be scrapped to make way for Champions League reforms.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about recent remarks by EFL chairman Rick Parry.
The Champions League is set to have two more matchdays under a new format from the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign.
As quoted by the Daily Mail on Wednesday (25 May), Parry claims that the need for more space in the calendar could kill the League Cup and the “£100million” of annual TV revenue it brings to EFL clubs.
But Maguire claims that there is no need to go for the nuclear option.
“There’s no reason why this should end the League Cup,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“The reason I say this is because there are still Premier League clubs who are not qualifying for European competition but would love to win a piece of silverware.
“Certain issues do need to be dealt with. The two-legged semi-finals appear to be unjustifiable, for example.
“But away from that, we see teams put out second-string sides in the FA Cup. There’s no reason why they can’t do that in the League Cup.
“Or, perhaps the big clubs might not have to enter the competition until the fourth round. These are all options that would soften the blow for the likes of Sunderland.
“There is no reason to scrap the League Cup. I was surprised by Rick Parry’s comments. He was willing to scrap the League Cup as part of Project Big Picture a few years ago.”
Sunderland were knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal at the quarter-final stage in 2021-22.
Alex Neil’s side will play Championship football next season after winning promotion via the play-offs.
In other news, expert suggests Jack Clarke will re-sign for Sunderland “very quickly” amid Tottenham claim.