‘Oh f*ck off’ – Carragher reacts to Liverpool & Man Utd opening talks for FIFA-backed European Premier League

Written By James Westwood

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Jamie Carragher has reacted angrily to reports of Liverpool and Manchester United reportedly opening talks for a new FIFA-backed European Premier League.

According to Sky News, a £4.6 billion ($6bn) package is being assembled by Wall Street bank JP Morgan to fund the creation of a competition which will see teams from England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain form a new league.

Up to five clubs from the Premier League could be eligible to participate in the tournament, with plans for a provisional start date of 2022 already in the pipeline.

Fixtures will be completed during the regular club season if the formation of the league goes ahead, with a total of 18 teams to be included and hundreds of millions of pounds in prize money up for grabs.

The teams that finish highest in the overall standings would qualify for a knockout format finale to crown the new champions of Europe, with home and away fixtures to be played in a round-robin style which would ultimately replace the current Champions League.

Carragher, who won the European Cup with Liverpool back in 2005, made his feelings on the proposal very clear on social media, writing on Twitter: “Oh f*** off.”

United legend Gary Neville also posted a response to the news on Twitter, quoting the original story with the caption: “Independent Regulator Anyone?”

Another former Liverpool star, Stan Collymore, joined the Sky Sports’ pundits in voicing his disapproval, insisting any English clubs that take part in the initiative should be removed from the Premier League on a permanent basis.

“If any English club joins a European Super League, then they should never be allowed back, ostracised completely and fam (sic) groups, real fan groups of those clubs stand up to condemn their club,” Collymore told his followers on social media.

“F*ck them off and remind them where their bread was buttered for 100+ years.”

Liverpool and United were also behind the ‘Project Big Picture’ proposition which all other 18 Premier League clubs voted against unanimously last week.

English football’s two biggest clubs moved to try and reduce the number of teams in the top flight from 20 to 18, while outlining plans to scrap both the EFL Cup and Community Shield.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham have also reportedly been approached over the European Premier League plans, but no legally binding contracts have been signed as of yet.