Gareth Southgate worries Premier League teams will go to tremendous lengths to comply with financial fair play regulations.
Gareth Southgate worries that financial fair play rules would jeopardize England’s chances of winning the Euros this summer. Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United announced earlier this week that they would play a friendly in Australia, only days after the Premier League season ended.
On May 19, the Lilywhites will play Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, while Brentford will welcome the Magpies at the G-Tech Community Stadium. With little to no respite, Ange Postecoglou and Eddie Howe will then face off at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on May 22 in benefit of the ‘Global Football Week’.
Newcastle will play again two days later against the A-League All Stars. Only two weeks later, England will play the first of two pre-European Championship warm-up friendlies, against Bosnia on June 3 and Iceland on June 7.
James Maddison, Kieran Tripper, and Anthony Gordon, who are all vying for a spot in the Three Lions side this summer, will have only a few weeks off. As Southgate prepares for the Euros, the England manager was questioned about the contentious match in Australia.
He said, “It will happen more and more. Why? Financial Fair Play requires clubs to produce revenue. We live in a strange world where there is more money in the game than ever before, yet everyone is scrambling to make more. The conventional approach to do this is to play more games, so is this good news for our preparation? No.”
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While Southgate expressed concern about the friendly, Howe termed it as a ‘wonderful opportunity’. The Newcastle manager stated, “This is an excellent opportunity to showcase Newcastle United at two famous venues in an iconic city as the club continues to expand globally.
“We are fortunate to have such wonderful supporters all over the world, and it is an honor to play in front of many Australians who would not otherwise have the opportunity to witness the squad. We are excited to engage with our supporters in Melbourne and provide them with an opportunity to feel closer to the club.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham’s Chief Football Officer, Scott Munn, stated: “We are thrilled to be travelling to Melbourne for a post-season encounter against Newcastle United. It is always a great privilege to be able to transport our team internationally.
“We have incredible global support, and the opportunity to engage with fans who may be thousands of miles away but are passionate about the club is incredibly remarkable. When we visited Perth last summer, we were blown away by the warmth of our Australian fans, and I am confident it will be the same in Melbourne.”
