UEFA president Michel Platini has reiterated his opposition to the Premier League's plan to stage an 'international round' of fixtures, insisting the scheme is designed only to help English teams cope with mounting debts.
And with the Premier League seemingly on the back foot as they return to the drawing board to take stock, Platini has launched another attack against the plan to take the English game to foreign shores.
"English clubs are in debt and are therefore always looking for new sources of profit to cope," Platini told French newspaper La Provence.
"When I see a Premier League club where the president, the coach and players are not English, again, I am sceptical."
He added: "Twenty years ago, people said that it was necessary to play sport to stay healthy. Today, it is to play for cash.
"Football is not just a product, it is the bearer of values, it has a social impact. We must return to the true values of sport.
"That is why I wanted to be president, in order to protect these values.
"I am not against money, far from it. I have earned a lot in my life. But I think that money should not command in sport."