Without reviving the PBG thread that's where all of the owner/PL interest should have gone. Not sure who was arguing with me about it but with the TV deals renewed at the same level the PL is only going to grow again from here as the economy comes back in time for new TV deals in 2024. This past year when it seemed they were at their lowest point was the time to get some leverage and some concessions to help the lower leagues and football as a whole. Now I'd say that window has passed as you hear nothing of it now and why would the PL even talk after the backlash? Football is just going to continue on this completely unrealistic financial treadmill forever for the lower leagues it seems. I guess Neville and his friends will be happy that their bullshit team may make them richer.
I'd say the only way the ESL is talked about again with any seriousness in the near future is the PL inviting those teams to join it as a Super Premier League or whatever branding their well paid marketing people come up with and not a complete breakaway league.
Yea, I think that's a non-zero possibility.
Or, if willing to preserve the domestic game, at least some kind of PL-driven new Champions League competition (either pressuring UEFA or creating a new competition). If the PL gets a lot of other European leagues onboard and created a new competition (where PL gets 8 "CL" spots, La Liga 6, Serie A 4, etc) but more games and more opportunities for big group stages (5 teams instead of 4, top 3 qualify or something) with smaller leagues, it could get traction. Essentially willing to "share" some pot of a new European competition but that is PL-driven with terms laid out by PL. Serie A, for example, could hate it, but they'd have no leverage given finances (and if smaller leagues are onboard). It could be a PL-power play against UEFA and other leagues to ensure that the PL is going to be the top league longer term. I'd guess the PL will want to flex its muscles at some point.
It's hard for the Top PL clubs to do anything to change the status quo given the other 14 clubs or so will always turn down any attempt at revenue consolidation (but at the same time not reining in City), so if the PL's revenues and popularity continues to grow, the clubs might as well band together and push their own European competition, getting enough other leagues onboard. Why should the PL only have 4-5 clubs playing in Europe's premier competition when their 10th place club has more revenues and higher wage bills than many other CL-qualified teams in other leagues? UEFA's already trying to appease this (with the legacy spots), but if the money gap continues to grow, the PL could definitely drive something. At the same time, they can still have a domestic competition, so that the masses aren't overly upset.
Not sure, I still think a newly-formed continental (or even global) competition at UEFA's expense may be possible if the PL got powerful enough and got enough people onboard. The Super League concept (that alienates some local rivals and most smaller clubs) will still be too much of a stretch, but if enough PL teams got onboard, maybe.
Crazy we're even talking about this, but then again, Messi is going to PSG, so there's that.
