Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay tried to win football supporters over with a bizarre explainer video that was debunked within moments of being posted.
Speaking on Twitter, Barclay said that his Brexit deal will allow the UK to decide whether “we want more English qualified players in the Premier League,” or whether we “want more talented players from Brazil, Africa, Argentina”.
He said in future English clubs will be able to decide based on “talent, rather than it being because they’re in Europe as opposed to the rest of the world”.
But as many people have pointed out the number of foreign players relate entirely to work permits and visas issued by the UK, not the EU, and many clubs have a healthy mix of non-EU nationals already.
Premier League champions Manchester City fielded a Chilean, an Argentinian and a Brazilian in their fixture against Liverpool last weekend, while Jürgen Klopp relied on first time regulars from Egypt, Senegal and three Brazilians.
As many people have pointed out, the league is currently among the finest in the world for a reason: it boasts an exceptional blend of English, European and non-European talent.
Poor show, Mr Barclay.
Do we want more players in the @PremierLeague from Brazil, Argentina or Africa compared to the EU? Or more English qualified players to strengthen the national team @FA? What would you rather see? The key opportunity of Brexit is that we will get to decide ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/QSJ6jwjfpY
— Steve Barclay (@SteveBarclay) November 14, 2019
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