Fenway Sports Group's (FSG) position at Liverpool may become untenable after their attempt to launch a European Super League, according to club great Jamie Carragher, while Gary Neville believes time is up for the Glazer family at Manchester United.
On Sunday, Liverpool and United, along with Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, along with teams from Spain and Italy, announced their intention to join a breakaway competition, sparking furore across the spectrum.
UEFA responded in force, threatening bans to clubs and players alike, with FIFA offering their support.
Governing bodies and football associations also condemned the move, while supporters gathered outside grounds to protest.
In a remarkable shift, the pressure told on Tuesday, with City formally announcing their withdrawal from the competition. Liverpool and United, along with the other English teams, followed suit.
While it remains to be seen what punishment, if any, will be handed out, Sky Sports pundits Carragher and Neville believe the ownerships of their respective clubs may have run their course.
"I'm as angry at Liverpool now as I was yesterday," Carragher said shortly before Liverpool's confirmation they had left the competition.
"Jurgen Klopp has thrown them under the bus, their own captain has thrown them under the bus, with the rest of the squad. There's nothing left for Liverpool's owners in what they're doing, what they're hanging on for.
"I actually think the situation with Liverpool's owners now – I don't see how they can continue. They can't just leave the club, obviously, it's a business. It's worth a lot of money if they sell it, but I don't see a future for the ownership of FSG at Liverpool anymore on the back of this, and I think they're just making it worse for themselves the longer they hang in."
Joel and Avram Glazer have long been unpopular with United's fanbase, meanwhile. On Tuesday, it was confirmed Ed Woodward – the club's executive vice-chairman – would be leaving at the end of 2021.
Neville added: "Ed Woodward is the trunk of the tree, we now need to go for the roots. [The Glazers] have declared their hand, while they were peacefully sat at the club, never showing their hand.
"They were taking money out of the club, leveraging the club, there's nothing we could do about that once the club became a PLC but they attacked every single football fan in this country with what they did.
"The Glazers have no place in Manchester anymore and we have to work hard to ensure that ownership rules in this country are changed, that we have a system whereby this can not happen, whether it's government intervention, an independent regulator, a fan-owned club rule.
"Whatever it is, we have to make sure that this is a catalyst for change. The people have spoken, we were on the brink of anarchy if this continued. These six sets of owners in this country and the other ones in Europe have misread this situation badly."
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour in Istanbul to watch Champions League final
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour will attend the Champions League final on Saturday evening.
Club sources have confirmed to the PA news agency that the sheikh will be present in Istanbul as City face Inter Milan bidding to win Europe’s top club prize for the first time.
It will only be the second game he has attended since his investment vehicle, the Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased City in 2008.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was also due to be at the showpiece match at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
City have risen to become the dominant force in the English game under Mansour’s stewardship with the club having won seven Premier League titles in the past 12 years and five of the last six.
Victory in Turkey on Saturday would also see them become only the second English side to win the treble having already retained their domestic title and won the FA Cup.
City also now sit at the heart of a global network of 13 clubs known as the City Football Group.
Naby Keita joins Werder Bremen after leaving Liverpool
Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has returned to Germany to join Werder Bremen after the expiration of his contract at Anfield.
The Guinea international’s £52million move to Merseyside from RB Leipzig in 2018 came with high expectations. However, he disappointed in his 129 appearances over five years as he struggled to get to grips with the physicality of the Premier League and missed large amounts of time with a series of injuries.
The 28-year-old featured just 13 times last season, was left out of the Champions League squad due to injury, and started only three Premier League matches.
Bremen will hope the midfielder’s return to the Bundesliga will bring a change of luck after scoring 14 goals and providing 14 assists in 58 matches for Leipzig before his move to Liverpool.
“A number of clubs are obviously going to be interested when a player like Naby Keita is available on a free transfer,” said Bremen head of scouting Clemens Fritz.
“We’re therefore really pleased that Naby has decided to join Werder, despite several other offers. His qualities will massively strengthen our team.
“We now want to get him back to his best.”
FA and PFA study finds increased dementia risk in ex-footballers
Former professional footballers are almost three and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population, according to a study commissioned by the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association.
First findings of the FOCUS study, conducted by the University of Nottingham, support previous research that former footballers may be at higher risk of neurocognitive disease.
The new report states that 2.8 per cent of retired professional footballers in their study reported medically diagnosed dementia and other neurodegenerative disease compared to 0.9 percent of controls.
This means former pros in the study were found to be 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases compared to the control group.
The study also showed retired footballers in the study were twice as likely to fall below established thresholds in some dementia testing than the general population.
Dr Charlotte Cowie, the FA’s head of medicine, told the governing body’s website: “The FA and the PFA jointly commissioned the FOCUS study in order to gain additional insight into the findings of the FIELD study, and to further examine any potential link between neurodegenerative disorders in former professional footballers.
“The FOCUS study worked with an established group of former professional footballers that were participating in research and was able to review their brain health, and it supports the previous findings in the FIELD study which suggest an increased risk for neurodegenerative disease in former professional footballers than in the general population.
“This is an extremely complex area of our game, but we are committed to working collectively with our stakeholders to help grow our knowledge in this area through further medical and expert analysis.”
The initial findings of the FOCUS study will be shared with both FIFA and UEFA, and the FA has reiterated its support for further research from across the wider game to help build a better understanding of players’ brain health and well-being.
“This is an important new study which supports previous evidence suggesting that footballers are at greater risk of dementia and poorer cognitive functioning in later life,” said the PFA’s head of brain health Dr Adam White.
“Studies such as this… ensure that targeted and evidence-led action can be identified and taken to support and protect players at all stages of their career.
“Continued investment in this type of research will remain absolutely vital.”
An FA statement read: “The FA has led the way in taking steps to help reduce potential risk factors within the game (including) establishing industry-leading concussion guidelines, introducing the world’s most comprehensive heading guidance at every level of the professional and amateur game in England, and implementing a new trial to remove deliberate heading in football matches across under-12 level and below.
“Further findings from the FOCUS study will be published in due course.”
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