'Desperation': Gary Neville says Newcastle United's desperation to get into Champions League is 'sad in a way'

For many clubs, playing in the Champions League is nothing more than a dream, for other clubs it's just a regular part of their season, and now for clubs like Newcastle United and Aston Villa, it has become almost necessary.

The financial implications of qualifying for the Champions League are enormous, and with the pressure applied by PSR, missing out on a spot in Europe, especially the Champions League, can be crippling.

Newcastle had a £70 million hole to fill last summer, which led to the departures of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh, two players Newcastle would have much preferred to have kept hold of.

Had Newcastle qualified for the Champions League last season, there's a good chance the club could have avoided those sales thanks to the extra money the Champions League brings in.

Gary Neville says the financial benefits of the Champions League have taken away the prestige of the competition

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has been speaking to Sky Sports (h/t Newcastle World) about how the financial benefits of being in the competition are almost taking the shine off the Champions League itself.

“The Champions League has always been big. But because of PSR now and the financial sort of position that a lot of these clubs find themselves in, we know that Villa and Newcastle and other clubs are under pressure with these £60-£70million Champions League pots that come their way.

“It’s become almost huge. It’s incredible, really. Sad in some ways, this desperation to get in there. I think a lot of the clubs are dependent on it. It’s unthinkable that (Manchester) City wouldn’t be in the Champions League and I think they will get into there.”

The Champions League money is another way that PSR has ruined the game

We absolutely agree with what Neville is saying. Being in the Champions League should be enough to raise a club's status and be a source of pride, and the financial benefits should be a nice bonus.

Instead, it is now less about the competition itself and more about getting that money so you can afford to survive in the domestic league without the fear of a points deduction.

Add this to the list of ways PSR has absolutely destroyed the game. For years, the game has been heading more towards being a business, but for the longest time, it has managed to hold on to what made it great, but the more rules and regulations they implement to sterilise the game, the more they drain the fun out of it.

There's still time to save it and getting rid of PSR would be a huge step, but they'll never do it.