The obstacles facing £4.6bn European Premier League plans backed by Liverpool

Seasoned football observers would be forgiven for rolling their eyes at yet another European Super League proposal.

After all, this kind of scheme rears its ugly head every few years when Europe’s elite clubs agitate for radical change.

This one, named the European Premier League, apparently has the backing of FIFA and Wall Street financiers JP Morgan to the tune of £4.6billion.

Liverpool and Manchester United are reportedly involved in talks for elite clubs to form a highly-lucrative European Premier League competition

The new league, which would also likely feature Barcelona and Real Madrid (pictured) reportedly has backing of FIFA and Wall Street financiers JP Morgan to the tune of £4.6billion

The bombshell plans are said to include a dozen or more elite teams in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France with Liverpool and Manchester United among the driving forces.

It appears to be just the latest attempt by the continent’s most influential clubs to break away from unfulfilling domestic competitions into a money-spinning closed shop playing among themselves.

As ever the backlash was immediate, widespread and ferocious, so with all this opposition is there any chance this latest scheme gets off the ground?

UEFA vs FIFA

The backing of FIFA means the European Premier League is clearly in opposition to UEFA’s Champions League.

It appears the competition would be played during midweek, with domestic fixtures at weekends, with the round robin league format taking up the full duration of a season and leaving no room for the Champions League.

Given that, it came as no surprise that UEFA were quick to come out and ‘strongly oppose’ the proposals when they emerged on Tuesday afternoon.

‘The UEFA president has made it clear on many occasions that UEFA strongly opposes a Super League,’ their statement read.

‘The principles of solidarity, of promotion, relegation and open leagues are non-negotiable. It is what makes European football work and the Champions League the best sports competition in the world.

UEFA were quick to condemn the new idea as they aim to protect their Champions League

‘UEFA and the clubs are committed to build on such strength, not to destroy it to create a super league of 10, 12 or even 24 clubs, which would inevitably become boring.’

Fair to say, then, that European football’s governing body is prepared to fight this power grab on its turf from FIFA.

The clash of the governing bodies is a fascinating dynamic to all this and though FIFA hasn’t yet commented on the validity of the reports, it will put them at loggerheads.

It’s only natural that UEFA would wish to protect the Champions League, which as of last season saw the tournament winners collect around £117million from an overall pot approaching £2.5bn.

The Champions League has a proven track record for drama, such as Marcus Rashford’s late winner for Manchester United against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night

The Champions League also has a proven track record…