Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor O'Neill

What is being said in the Premier League WhatsApp group Liverpool aren't in

Liverpool have suffered yet another Premier League snub after Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud revealed a 14-team WhatsApp group is in operation.

A Premier League meeting took place on Tuesday morning without Liverpool after the club opted to be a part of a new breakaway European Super League.

The online meeting was chaired by Richard Masters and allowed those clubs not involved in the movement to formulate a plan of action moving forward.

The Reds confirmed on Sunday night that it was planning to join the new breakaway competition aimed at rivalling the UEFA Champions League. Fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were also part of the plans for the breakaway.

But those plans were dropped on Tuesday night by all six clubs following a fierce backlash after the news was confirmed on Sunday.

And following the meeting between Premier League stakeholders on Tuesday, the Prince has confirmed that the move has been spoken about by club CEOs in the group.

However, the WhatsApp group, which is made up of the clubs who were not invited to join the breakaway, was not made on the back of Sunday’s news.

Instead, it was created last summer when the Premier League was split on whether to introduce five substitutions per game for this season.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp openly criticised clubs for voting against the use of five substitutes for a third time back in December.

But managers like Carlo Ancelotti and Chris Wilder were both critical of the move as they believe it would hand the bigger clubs an unfair advantage.

"We have a What's App group only for 14 teams without the big six. We had that last year,” Prince Abdullah said.

"Because the five substitutions mattered and the big six will get the most benefit from that because of the benches they had compared to ours.

"It is just the CEOs. Yesterday 11 of us were discussing the recent events and they all completely rejected the European Super League.

"We are waiting on Wolves and Leicester, and I forget the third team.

"The day before we had the Premier League meeting and they all rejected the requests for punishments."

*How should football respond to the European Super League? Take our quick fan survey.

While Prince Abdullah also believes the six clubs who threatened a breakaway already have their opinions and thoughts heard by the Premier League.

"I have to remark about the Premier League; they usually care about the big six opinions other than the 14,” he said.

“The known big six are Man United, Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, and Chelsea.

"First it is money, then popularity among fans. I guess that is the reason for sure (certain) money and popularity."

Before Prince Abdullah concluded: "It is a strong refusal. Because it will affect the Premier League and decrease the income in future regarding TV money. The big six would play with a secondary line-up."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.