PFA chief says English football's claim to be the best is 'offensive'

Players' boss Gordon Taylor says it has always been "offensive" to claim English football is the best in the world without success for the national team.

Premier League domination in the Champions League ended this season with no team through to the last four for the first time since 2003.

And Fabio Capello warned that the top teams in his adopted country were suffering because of the relative lack of investment in new players compared to Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

Capello warns Premier League big guns: Spend or EU are history  

But with England approaching the World Cup seeking to end 44 years without a trophy, players' union boss Taylor insisted that the strength of a nation could never just be judged on club football.

"I felt it was very dangerous to assume we had the best league in the world, even when we had three teams in the Champions League semi-finals," said Taylor.

"It is offensive to La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga to name just three.

"It is not just about club success. It is about international success as well."

Despite Premier League matches such as Tottenham against Arsenal still offering an unrivalled spectacle, Taylor remains concerned about the long-term health of the English domestic game.

Portsmouth are in administration, while Hull and West Ham will face financial catastrophe if they are relegated this season.

Manchester United and Liverpool are heavily in debt due to leverage buyouts, while Arsenal are paying off the cost of building the Emirates Stadium.

With the addition of the new 50 per cent tax rate and the fall in the value of the pound, Taylor fears the Premier League faces unprecedented instability in line with the general economic outlook.

"To assume everything in the garden is rosy would be wrong," claimed the PFA chief executive.

"Football is a mirror to what is happening in this country and the rest of the world.

"With the credit crunch it is a fact that we have serious financial problems. This country is in the red.

"That has to impact on football. Nobody would have ever thought a Premier League club would go into administration. But that has happened and when you see the debt levels of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, you feel if they do need to balance the books they are going to be open to a bid they may not be able to refuse."

The Premier League clubs yesterday agreed to extend parachute payments for relegated clubs from two to four years - and increase the sum to £48m in line with the increase in television revenues.

"This is a good step for relegated clubs," said West Ham co-owner David Gold.

"It helps those who we know over the years have been hurt badly by relegation. It also helps the Football League, all the way down to the lower divisions. I think it is a good day for football.

The proposal should be ratified at the Premier League AGM in June.