Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock pokes fun at European Super League defectors

Neil Warnock has lived up to his reputation for stellar one-liners by making light of the European Super League news which has shaken football to its core.

The iconic English manager was asked for his take on the defector league which has seen both Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham state they will form a breakaway competition as ‘Founding Members.’

A veteran of the game, Warnock has seen it all throughout his 40 years in football management, and when asked what he made of the ‘big news’ during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday he responded in trademark fashion. 

Neil Warnock made light of the Super League plans before going on to focus on the greed

‘The big news on Sunday night?’ said Warnock. ‘Call The Midwife’s back on. I had a little cry…’

The response gained widespread laughter, but Warnock was quick to turn his attention to the real matter at hand and discuss the greed at the heart of the ‘Big Six’ clubs looking to break away.

‘The problem has been coming, it’s not just arrived,’ Warnock said, as report the Northern Echo.

Liverpool owner John W Henry will act as one of the European Super League’s vice-chairman

‘The problem has been coming for many years, and we’ve not done anything to stop it. We’ve just let anybody who’s got a lot of money buy football clubs.

‘If you’re going to allow that, then it’s like anything else, money thrives on money. When you’ve got a bit of money in your pocket, you want more and more. 

‘I suppose the pandemic has hit everybody in the pocket, and these guys are very clever people and think they’ve spotted an opportunity to make some more money.

‘The problem is that they’ve never been at the grassroots level, so they have no understanding of it. They’ve never stood on the Kop anywhere or been to Tavistock to watch a non-league game.

‘It’s difficult because these people who own the clubs, and the chief executives who run them, they’ve never experienced anything other than money and business. 

‘That’s their priority, not football, and it’s hard to educate anybody that doesn’t need to listen to anybody else. They’ve got that much money, they can do whatever they want.’