Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has accused American owners of trying to change the landscape of English football that will enable the 'Big-Six' to pull further clear in their domination.
Just over a year on from the dramatic emergence and collapse of the European Super League, Neville has opened up on the problems that English football as a whole is beginning to face. The restructure of the Champions League from 2024 onwards is set to reward the Premier League's biggest clubs, even if they have a difficult season domestically.
Neville, who has often spoken passionately about English football retaining its current structure, where anyone can be relegated or promoted, has criticised American owners for purchasing English clubs and trying to go against the English ethos. The Super League would have seen the 'Big-Six' rewarded, even if they had failed, with no relegation set to be a factor of it.
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But with the plan to change the landscape of the Champions League in two years' time set to further reward the big clubs, Neville has called on the Premier League's 14 other clubs to fight it every step of the way. Arsenal, Liverpool and United are all currently owned by Americans and Chelsea could soon join them on that list.
Neville told Sky Sports : "What the top-six are trying to do with the Champions League money from UEFA, by trying to fix that in, we need to act. I am absolutely convinced that football must act today, because it will go too far away when that top-six is set in stone.
"One of my clubs is in the top-six and in terms of revenue we're in the top three in the world. But I want them to be challenged - and I always felt that.
"Blackburn, Leicester, Chelsea and Manchester City have emerged over the last 15 or 20 years and I have always wanted that; I have never wanted a league that is just set as Manchester United and Liverpool. I don't want it [entitlement] and it is the absolute beauty of our system.
"The problem that we have got at this moment in time is that we are trying to be Americanised by American owners who don't get it. They have got franchise models over in America where there is no relegation. They don't like it because their investment can go down.
"We have got different types of owners. We have got Tony Bloom at Brighton who will invest money, but it is for reasons of passion for the city and the football club that he loves.
"You have then got what would be credibility validation marketing play, which would be claiming stakes, such as Roman Abramovich, the Saudis and Abu Dhabi. Then you have got more of this American influx, which I think we are going to see more of at Chelsea, which is an investment model where they want returns and they will, at all costs, make sure their investment is protected.
"That's fine in a sporting sense, but don't try and change the constitution. They are trying to do that and tried to do it blazingly through the Super League, and now they are trying to do it through the backdoor, with what they are doing with the Champions League and we have got to stop it.
"We have got to stop them. The 14 have got to pull together to stop the six, because they will try and grab the Champions League and the UEFA money that is there.
"They're doing it already and we have got to stop that, because it is really important that we keep the integrity of the game."
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