PREMIER LEAGUE supremo Richard Masters claims English football has no need for mega-signings like Lionel Messi as he slammed the lack of competitiveness in rival European leagues.
The chief exec believes the Prem’s strength from top to bottom is more important than individual clubs attracting the best individuals, like PSG have with Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
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Masters believes “four or five” teams can win the top flight this term, whereas fellow European leagues will remain far more predictable.
PSG snapped up free agent Messi on a two-year deal with £600,000-a-week wages after the legend’s shock Barcelona exit.
But Chelsea have landed £98m Romelu Lukaku from Italian champs Serie A, while Manchester United lured Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.
And Masters told the Telegraph: “It’s always good to have the biggest names but it is not built on individuals.
“That is what separates the Premier League from other European leagues – how competitive it is from top to bottom.”
But he added: “No one was anticipating that Messi would become a free agent overnight.
“It would have been nice had he come to the Premier League in the autumn of his career. He has chosen to go to Paris. We will survive.
“We have always had our fair share of the world’s best players mixed with really good English talent coming through the system.
“We will be fine. I am expecting next season to be as competitive as ever.”
And Masters took a shot at other European competitions by saying: “I do think it’s a problem for those leagues [lack competitiveness] and it is part of the malcontent exacerbated by the pandemic that leagues need to be competitive to be successful long term.
“I think we have four clubs this season, maybe five, who can win the league and then you have a real chasing pack for the European spots.
“For some it is about winning it, for others it’s Champions League football, or making progress, or staying in it.
“There is a part in the soap opera for everybody. There is hope instilled in the pyramid and I can’t see what hope there is in some of the other leagues.”
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