Six clubs from the premier league would be included in a new European Super League that was to be created in 2020. The proposals caused a lot of uproar and were quickly put down.
Gary Neville's new book, The People's Game: A View from A Front Seat in Football, is based on the fall out from that and the financial crisis caused by the Pandemic.
In this Q&A with Sky Sports, Neville talks about the state of the game and what he wants to see happen in the future.
The issue of what happened with the Super League and what the top six tried to do was a defining one. It was a criminal act. It was an attempt to kill English football. Not just football from England. The whole of Europe would have been devastated by it. We can't just ignore that. In real life, we wouldn't forget about it.
The majority of those people are still owning those clubs, and they still have intent, because Barcelona, Real Madrid and others are still saying that the Super League is going to go ahead. We don't know what they will do with it. They are going to bring it back. They will try to get closer to that.
I don't think I'm alone. I think this is the most important issue in football today because our pyramid needs protecting and there are people within it who want to get more out of it than they should. In other parts of Europe, there is not fair competition.
The Super League isn't the only one. It is about the county. It is about the city of burlington. It is about something called sustainable living. It's about fairness. A fit-and-proper owners test is what it's about. independence will allow the game to have a lot of things. It won't come through greed or vested interests. Because of the number of votes you need, the game is stuck at all levels. That doesn't need unblocking.
There is a suggestion in my book that a regulator is needed. According to the last Conservative government's manifesto, we need an independent regulator. They have done a great job, that's for sure. We have to do that now.
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I will turn 50 in a few years. I know a lot more than I did. Even though I was a union rep and captained Manchester United, I was not in a position of leadership because I was an employee. You are told what to do, and you follow that. The principles of how I was raised are what remain. Listen to your leaders, your coaches, your teachers.
I didn't speak up on social issues, but I admire those players who do now. I humility about that in the book. I didn't do enough when Roman Abramovich came to CHELSEA, when the Glazer family came to United, and when I witnessed the racial abuse of a black player in the Spanish league. I didn't think it was as dangerous as it is now.
I feel that there is a better way forward for football because of the experiences that I have had in the past, whether it be playing, managing, or owning a club. Maintaining the standards of the premier league is the priority of any regulators. I enjoy watching the premier league. It is very good. This is not an anti-premier league stance, this is a pro-premier league stance to make the game better and stronger.
I like to watch football. You wouldn't believe how excited I am for the derby. I am looking forward to it. I respect that it is my job when I am doing that, and I can't wait to watch the great games that we have in the next couple of weeks, I can't think of a better way to start the season. Business in sport is something I enjoy.
I feel more confident speaking about the issues that affect the game. I won't do that because I believe we can have a better and fair game for everyone.
It means better for Manchester United in the premier league and for Ossett United in the second tier. We have the best league in the world, but I think we can be better. We need to be independent. We can't have a situation where all the power is held by a few clubs. It's not right.
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Financial experts, not experts in football, should be the regulators. There should be real-time financial management and a fair distribution model in place.
We need a fit-and-proper owners test to make sure we have transparency and independence around which owners can come into English football.
We need to make sure we don't allow proposals like Big Picture and Super League to happen in the future. There are many different reasons why an independent regulator needs to come in but the main reason is because football has shown over the past 30 years that they have allowed the gap to widen so much between the Premier League and the Championship.
The Championship, League One and League Two should be given what they are given because people think they should have all the money. That isn't right. Thirty years ago, it was set up in a different way. There was a small gap. You don't need parachutes unless you have a cliff, that's what Rick Parry says in the book, and there is a cliff between the Championship and the premier league. Gambling like in a casino is what it takes to get back in there. We don't want that. It should not get to the point where you are concerned about your club's future if you are demoted.
I'm not saying that the league shouldn't give money to the pyramid without rules. We'll end up in this situation again if teams spend money on players. The board needs to be changed all the time. It can't just be a redistribution.
Football has shown that it can't do it on its own. The FA doesn't have much power. The FA and other organizations are funded by the premier league.
The premier league has 20 clubs There are more than 30 clubs who have played in the premier league. There are at least one non-League ones in the area. It is not permanent. The league isn't a franchise one. We have to protect that pyramid. Our game is strong in this country.
The pyramid needs to be independent for a few years until we can reset the FA and it can become the governing body that it needs to be in five to 10 years.
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Not much gets done in football because of that. This is a log jam. There are vested interests. There are competing interest. It was greed. Not thinking about the bigger picture. There is a situation where you can't get anything done.
This fan-led review can't be put away. It is a masterpiece. The things in my book are reflected in the review. There is cross-party support and overwhelming support in the community for Liz to execute the recommendations of the review. I was a little bit worried when I heard that it could be put on hold. I hope that they were just rumors and not the real thing.
There is overwhelming support for sports ministers, cabinet ministers, Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs. If there is a new PM who doesn't want to see it through, that would be against the wishes of 99 per cent of football and 99 per cent of the political will. It's an easy win. If you're looking for good news in the lead up to an election, this is the time.
I'm always worried about power, hierarchy, vested interest and greed winning because it seems like it's overtaken our society, not just football. Is it possible to look after each other and act the right way? Should League One and Two clubs have to wait up to a year for a rescue package during the Pandemic? When football clubs in this country are arguing over a few million dollars in order to stay alive, should we be arguing over those things?
It's nonsense to say that it would hurt the league. It's scaremongering and it makes people afraid.
There is a long way to go and I will always be worried about it. There is a possibility that something is happening. It is time to keep calm because there is overwhelming support for the fan led review recommendations within football. I'm not sure why that would be ignored.
The game can do better in certain areas. We need a full invested women's game. We have to make sure that Karen is allowed to do her job and that the recommendations are implemented. There are things in the book that mention them. It's broad.
Football is easy to understand. It is very easy. It will sort itself out, if you have some regulation and independence. People fell in love with the game because they like kicking a ball around. It's time to take it back to that innocence.
There is a book called The People's Game: A View from A Front Seat in Football.
The People's Game: A View from A Front Seat in Football is Gary's new book and he talked about it in an interview with Sky Sports.
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