Liverpool are reportedly one of six top-flight clubs that have voted against the Premier League initiating discussions with the Football Association and English Football League over drastic financial changes as part of the 'New Deal for Football' package.
According to the Times' Martyn Ziegler, Liverpool - along with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea - voted against allowing conversations to begin between the three governing bodies over a revised deal for the 72 clubs below the Premier League.
In the latest Premier League shareholders' meeting, which took place on Tuesday, 14 of the 20 top-flight clubs successfully voted in favour of the league's member clubs agreeing to initiate talks around delivering an additional £170m in financial advances each year.
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The report suggests that the 'New Deal' package "would result in about £170 million more a year being given to the EFL and parachute payments drastically cut." The Times piece claims that Liverpool and the other five clubs "objected on the grounds that they wanted to know the formula for deciding how much each club would have to contribute before giving the mandate."
Sources suggest, via Mr Ziegler's article, that the six teams "do not want those playing in Europe to have to contribute more, believing each club’s contribution should mirror their Premier League income."
Premier League rules state that all member clubs are entitled to one vote on all proposed rule changes and major commercial contracts but at least two-thirds of clubs, which equates to 14 out of the 20, must agree to the proposition for it to be approved. That means that if a seventh team had voted against the proposal, its advancement would have been thwarted.
As part of the 'New Deal for Football,' Premier League clubs are willing to financially support those lower down the English football pyramid on a conditional basis. One of the desired conditions is to hand European sides the option to field an under-21s side in the Carabao Cup or snub the competition altogether, while the abolishment of FA Cup replays has also been mentioned.
Premier League clubs also hope that their finances will come in exchange for ditching the existing, stringent laws on signing overseas players. However, the FA are said to be conservative about such a decision due to the negative impact it could have on the England national team.
Clubs in the United Kingdom have been unable to sign foreign players freely since officially leaving the European Union in January 2021. They are prohibited from signing overseas players under the age of 18, while those over such an age are put through a rigorous scoring system - based on their club and international appearance - to judge whether they would qualify for a work permit.
Liverpool moved swiftly before the introduction of the new legislation as they signed Spanish midfielder Stefan Bajcetic from Celta Vigo in December 2020, just days before the post-Brexit trading rules came into effect. The 17-year-old - who recently became the Reds' youngest Champions League debutant - was the academy's last overseas addition.
Prior to the arrival of Bajcetic, the Reds stacked their ranks with the additions of Polish youth internationals Mateusz Musialowski and Fabian Mrozek in the summer of 2020. They also signed German-born forward Melkamu Frauendorf in the same window.
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