The Premier League are facing an uphill battle to keep all 20 teams in the division happy, after the latest Chinese TV deal led to private talks being held among the 'Big Six', according to reports in theMail.
It was hoped that a recent meeting between all of the league's current clubs would see a unanimous approval of a three-yeardeal with Chinese network PPTV, which is reportedly worth a staggering £564m.
CHARLES SALE: Huge £564m Chinese TV deal raises fear of Premier League Big Six split https://t.co/qCYwVzka2C pic.twitter.com/YiZcYn7tQH
However, the meeting was extended by Manchester United vice-chairman Ed Woodward who met with representatives from theother five members of the 'big six' -Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham -to discuss what the deal means for them and what their options are going forward.
Although all 20 teams eventually agreed to the terms of the contract, the other 14 clubs are concerned that the private discussions suggest a split in TV revenue dealings could well occur in the future.
The Premier League's overall broadcasting deal currently stands at a value of £8.3bn, which sees an estimated£5.136bn receivedfrom within the British Isles and a further £3.2bn intake from overseas.
As the money coming from broadcasters continues to steadilyrise, the likes of United, Chelsea and Arsenal are becoming frustrated that they don't receivea larger chunk of the money, as they point to their globalappeal to suggest that they are the key reason behind the extraordinarysums being offered from abroad.
Whilst there has been talk thatthe 'Big Six' could seek to remove themselves from England's top flight in a bid to set up a breakaway super league, it is more likely that the six teams in question wouldrebel against the Premier League and choose to pursue their own separatedeals with broadcasters.
In doing so, it would give them greater control over how much money they receive,and in all likelihood mean that the distribution of wealth between all 20 teams becomes severely unequal - something that the league is desperately trying to avoid.