LONDON — There should be no more attractive job in the sports business than being chief executive of the Premier League. England’s top division, after all, is not just a soccer phenomenon, but a cultural one, too.

Its chief executive sits at its apex, leading negotiations on the dozens of television contracts that generate billions of dollars in revenue for the league and its clubs every year; arbitrating disputes between teams and owners used to getting their way; and keeping the biggest soccer league in the world ticking. And yet for more than year, and despite an extensive search, that post sat vacant.

Two candidates accepted the job, only to fail to take office. The first, a woman hailed as a groundbreaking choice, withdrew for reasons that were never made clear. The other resigned before he had even started work after news reports accused him of inappropriate workplace conduct. And in a previously unreported episode, a third candidate was offered the job, accepted it, and only then was told the league had changed its mind.

In the end, the Premier League chose the man who was holding the fort, its managing director, Richard Masters. A consensus pick, Masters, 53, represented a safe choice after an embarrassing recruitment process that reflected poorly on a league that has long prided itself on getting its immensely lucrative business done with minimal fuss.