Liverpool are “in talks” about joining a European Premier League, according to Sky News. The competition would be backed by FIFA and a loan from bank JP Morgan, believed to be in the region of $6billion (£4.6m), would be used to finance the tournament.

Manchester United are the only other English team who are said to have held discussions about the proposal but it is thought that up to five teams in the Premier League could be involved.

Clubs in Italy, Spain, France and Germany would also be invited, with 18 teams taking part in total. Fixtures would be played in parallel to the domestic season and a knockout tournament would then decide the winner each season, with prize money likely to total hundreds of millions.

This appears to be a powerplay by FIFA as this would effectively undermine the UEFA Champions League. A formal announcement regarding the new competition could happen at the end of this month.