• ‘It will be greater than the Champions League,’ predicts Bernard Caiazzo • Believes Uefa should stop TV deal giving Premier League unfair advantage • Ligue 1 club in talks to create partnership with Manchester City

The co-president of St Etienne Bernard Caiazzo has called on Uefa to take action to stop the Premier League becoming “the NBA of football” after it receives a record £5.14bn from its latest TV deal.

Caiazzo believes France’s Ligue 1 and other leagues in Europe will be left behind by the English top flight at the start of the 2016-17 season, when the Premier League’s TV revenue will stand at around £8.5bn for three years, taking into account the value of international rights.

“The Premier League will become the NBA of football. It will be greater than the Champions League. Clubs such as Manchester United or Chelsea will have budgets of €700 or €800m,” he was quoted as saying in the French media. “What is happening in England will impact on Germany, Italy, Spain. And I do not imagine that Uefa will not react. But there will be a greater attention if the request comes from Bayern [Munich], Real [Madrid] , Barcelona or Milan instead of St Etienne.”

Caiazzo’s comments are of particular interest given that he recently confirmed that St Etienne are in talks with Manchester City over the possibility of creating a partnership that will allow the Premier League club to benefit from the French club’s young talent.

Caiazzo told the Independent: “It all looks very serious. City have been impressed by our talent for producing players of Champions League standard. These people are willing to work in depth.”