Gary Neville has accused the Premier League of acting like a "bully" and being both "selfish" and "greedy" in talks over funding for the EFL.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Premier League and EFL talks on holdParliament to debate football regulatorPL committed to investing £1.6bnFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Neville has slammed the Premier League in a remarkable rant about the organisation's behaviour in relation to negotiations over extra funding for the football pyramid. The EFL and the top-flight's talks over a new television deal have been on hold since March and parliament will debate the introduction of an independent football regulator, who could settle the dispute, in the coming weeks.
AdvertisementGetty Images NewsTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Premier League is committed to investing £1.6bn ($2.1bn) over the next three seasons into the pyramid but Neville is unimpressed with how they have conducted themselves, calling for a new deal to help clubs such as his own Salford City stay sustainable within the EFL.
WHAT NEVILLE SAID
Neville said at the Labour party conference in Liverpool: "I have no idea what they're playing at – they look awful to me. They look selfish. They look greedy. Everything you wouldn’t want to be in life, everything your parents wouldn’t want you to be.
“We’re happy to accept conditions around the money coming down, because the reality is, we want a sustainable game. I’m an owner of a football club, I want my club to be sustainable.
“[Football] is not sustainable, and we have a Premier League that are entitled. They feel entitled. They’re the big brother that sit there and distribute scraps of food to the little brothers around the table. It’s not what you do when you’re in a family.
“I know exactly what they’re doing – if they had wanted to have done a deal, they would have done a deal. But their mindset is such of a bully, their mindset is that they can influence a regulator once a regulator is introduced and get a better deal potentially the other side of the regulator coming in.”
GettyWHAT NEXT?
The Premier League is continuing to negotiate with the government over the introduction of an independent regulator. It remains to be seen exactly when it could be put into action.
