Sunderland and EFL rivals could benefit from £250m Premier League bailout plans as part of controversial revamp

The Daily Telegraph broke the news on Sunday afternoon that Liverpool and Manchester United are leading radical proposals for the reform of English football which would see the top flight reduced to 18 teams and hand more power to the ‘top six’ clubs.

As part of the proposals, the Premier League would provide the £250million bailout to the EFL desperately needed as a result of the economic fallout from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with clubs playing behind-closed-doors and facing huge drops in revenue.

Fans are not expected back inside stadiums until March at the earliest.

The controversial plans could also see the League Cup and Community Shield axed plus the voting system for the top flight could be changed with more power going to a smaller number of clubs, effectively handing more power to those clubs who have been in the top flight the longest.

The new proposals have sparked a big reaction in the football community and controversy over where the power would then lie.

The Telegraph report EFL chairman Rick Parry – said to have held talks with both Liverpool and Manchester United - is in favour of the plans, given the financial boost it would give the 72 clubs in the EFL in face of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Parry told The Telegraph: “What do we do? Leave it exactly as it is and allow the smaller clubs to wither? Or do we do something about it?

“And you can’t do something about it without something changing. And the view of our clubs is if the big six get some benefits but the 72 also do, we are up for it.”

There could also be changes to the loan system, while relegated clubs from the top flight would no longer receive parachute payments, something Sunderland has benefited from in recent seasons following their fall through the divisions, instead the Premier League revenue would be shared more equally among EFL clubs.

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