Today is the day the UK votes on whether to leave the EU or not, and unsurprisingly the European media are very interested indeed.
German newspaper Bild has written something of a love letter to the country, saying that if the UK vote to remain then they’ll finally accept Geoff Hurt’s World Cup Final goal was over the line.
French newspaper L’Equipe say that the Premier League stands to lose many EU players if the vote is to leave. Spanish newspaper Marca go even bigger on the same story, and have compiled a list of how many players at each club could be in danger should an exit vote triumph.
The assumption from Marca is that all EU players will suddenly become non EU players and therefore have to pass the tough work permit tests set out for footballers moving to England.
The Spanish newspaper have largely ignored the new regulations, which take transfer fee and wages into account, and instead focused solely on the % of games needed at international level to qualify for a work permit.
Marca believe that 13 players at both Arsenal and Manchester United could be in danger if there’s an exit vote, meaning that they’d have to apply for a work permit in order to stay in the country.
However, the UK has many workers from the EU in all industries and it’s got to be considered unlikely they’d all suddenly be turfed out. Even in the most drastic scenario, the process would take several years, and so it’s more likely transfers of the future that would become an issue.
A bigger problem this summer could be the strength of the £ compared to the € if there’s a post exit currency slump, which would make transfers more expensive during the window.
