PREMIER LEAGUE clubs have been warned they face a further cut in TV income — even without the cost of the pandemic.
The 20 top-flight clubs were landed with paying a £330million rebate to broadcasters.
And the tender for the next three-year deal from the 2022-23 campaign goes out later this season.
But broadcast analyst Claire Enders suggests hopes of matching the current deal, worth £5billion over three years, are unfeasible.
Instead, Enders believes clubs must steel themselves for a £500m reduction.
She said: “The last auction was post-peak, the takings were down and we expect that to continue.
“Sky and BT overpaid for rights in the past and BT has suffered a decline in its value.
“Now the UK sports broadcasters are trying to think about reducing their rights costs.
“Auctions are emotional affairs and in the past, BT has always blinked and written a cheque. But they are now in a stronger position and both companies can afford to offer less.
“The next auction could lead to a five-ten per cent decline in the rights values in the UK.”
DIDIER DROGBA has the support of Fifa in his bid to become the new head of Ivory Coast football.
The former Chelsea striker was ruled out of the race for allegedly failing to meet the election requirements of official endorsers.
But Fifa chiefs have stepped in to demand the elections do not take place unless ‘The Drog’ is allowed to run.
It comes as under-pressure Fifa president Gianni Infantino sent out a clear signal he is prepared to move the organisation from their Zurich headquarters and back to the original home of Paris.
Infantino was in the French capital yesterday to meet President Emmanuel Macron and announce “the principle of opening a Fifa office in Paris” next year.
And the message will not have been lost on the Swiss prosecutors currently investigating Infantino’s secret meetings with the country’s former attorney general.
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