Doomed league merger offers Celtic and Rangers Premier League lessons as Dutch giants bin BeNeLiga project

Dutch clubs pulled out of a historic merger with Belgium's top sides over the weekend in a move that casts fresh doubt over a number of other similar proposals in the UK.

Last spring all 25 members of the Belgian Pro League voted unanimously to create the all-new 'BeNeLiga'.

It would have combined top sides such as Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Royal Antwerp with the likes of Ajax and Feyenoord in a new setup.

That also had Celtic and Rangers fans watching on with interest given figures at both clubs down the years have expressed an interest in crossing the border and taking part in the Premier League.

Steven Gerrard warmly touched on the topic as Ibrox manager in January 2020 and later that year it was Parkhead's largest shareholder, Dermot Desmond, who said the new digital age of football consumption may see demands for a "British League".

There's also the so-called 'Atlantic League' proposal which could also bring in Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen along with sides from Ireland and the Nordics.

Back to the low countries though and on Friday reports came in from the Netherlands that the big Eredivisie sides had developed cold feet on the BeNeLiga, quickly confirmed by a league statement.

It read: "The Dutch top clubs - Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, FC Utrecht, Vitesse and AZ - determined on Wednesday that there is insufficient support among them and the other Dutch clubs to set up the BeNeLiga.

"In recent months, serious research has been carried out into whether a BeNeLiga with a 'split season model' was feasible.

"A Netherlands-Belgian delegation had a meeting about this with the top of UEFA at the beginning of March, led by chairman Aleksander Ceferin.

"The Dutch top clubs are now stopping the project, because the necessary