Richards: Premier League harms England

Premier League chairman Sir David Richards has broken ranks by admitting the England team is being harmed by the number of foreign imports in the top flight.

Richards' comments completely contradict the view of Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who insisted England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 had nothing to do with the recent influx of overseas stars.

Speaking at the Third Dubai International Sports Conference, held in the United Arab Emirates principality at the end of May, Richards said in an recording obtained by the Guardian: "Does the Premier League hurt the national side? I think the answer to that has got to be yes."

He added: "We've been a bit lazy in the Premier League over the years. We created a system of academies and every club spends about £3million a year developing young players. But it hasn't worked, because the availability for us to go out and buy the best stars is an easy thing.

"Anybody who comes into the league needs to stay in it, so needs to buy the best stars. We pick kids up at eight years old, we send them to the academy, then at 16 we make them a student, then at 18 we say they haven't made it."

Richards went further by admitting former England manager Steve McClaren lost his job last year because of the status quo.

"Steve will tell you that he has to have the best players available and the Premier League has hurt him," Richards said.

Asked whether he now stood by his comments, Richards claimed what he had said was not quite what he meant.

The Premier League responded by saying: "These comments do not represent the collective view of the Premier League."