Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson says 'Project Big Picture' will save clubs

The plans, spearheaded by Liverpool and Manchester United, have aroused huge controversy across football, with many labelling it as a power-grab by the top six of Premier League football at the expense of everyone else.

But Gibson is pragmatic about the situation amid the EFL's grave financial crisis due to the fall-out of Covid-19 and believes that the rescue package is essential in the short-term, alongside the future 25 per cent redistribution of Premier League revenue which would help the game be sustainable below the top-flight.

Gibson told the Daily Mail: "It guarantees the sustainability of football outside the Premier League, providing there is discipline put into it through regulation, the biggest one being a hard wage cap in the EFL.

"When I first saw the document I was excited by it. It is self-interest, of course. Is it better for my club? Yes. But certainly all of the Championship clubs I've spoken to are behind it. As for those in League One and Two, it would be huge. It would save a lot of them.

"I understand it comes at a cost for some Premier League clubs. I, too, am uneasy about the movement and concentration of power.

"But the truth is that those top six clubs already have significantly more influence than the rest. If you look at where football revenue is generated in this country, it is because of the overseas love affair with the Premier League. In particular, those big six clubs.

"So nothing is perfect. Would you ordinarily wish that power shift to be the case? Probably not. But sometimes you have to give something up.

"Overall, the document is better for the future of football. Because without this, or another bailout, I see a domino effect. One club will go bust and then another and another.

"And these clubs are so important to the community. I could not imagine the town of Middlesbrough without its football club."