It has been heralded as the biggest breakthrough in relations between the clubs and football’s governing bodies for many years while UEFA and FIFA are hailing it as a defining moment for the game’s future, but is the new agreement really good for the game in general or just further pandering to Europe’s elite?

The good news is that the governing bodies have finally overseen the disbanding of the repulsive and self-serving G14 movement, a vulgar organisation based on greed and resentment and home to the most unsavoury characters in European football. Its demise, and its replacement with a new European Club Association (ECA), can only be a positive move but with a number of the same clubs holding strong hands in the new organisation it remains to be seen whether the ECA simply becomes a recognised version of the G14 with the same clubs wheedling their way into powerful positions.

UEFA has agreed to spend 43.5m euros on recompensing the clubs for their loss of players during EURO matches every four years with FIFA similarly splashing the cash for World Cup games. The former G14 clubs have dropped their legal case against them as a result. One large step for footballkind, or one giant bribe to paper over the cracks? For an organisation that holds no official power in the game, it certainly seems on the surface as if the G14 have forced the governing bodies to put a price on an easy life and a threat to their existence.

The per-day rate agreed with the clubs for players on international duty will certainly benefit the smaller clubs who suffer more when their big names head off to qualifiers and major competitions. But at the end of the day money that was not going to the clubs before will, in the majority, be finding its way into the pockets of the biggest clubs once again thus widening the gap between the have and have-nots.

And where will the cash come from? UEFA and FIFA are hardly likely to write off more than 100m euros from their own kitties every four years, so the shortfall will either have to made up by cutting down on prize money or reducing the amounts the bodies spend on spreading the gospel of the beautiful game at all levels down to grass roots. Either way, it does not sound good for the game in general.

Time will tell of course, but the ‘win-win’ situation stated by the governing bodies for themselves and the clubs alike does not seem to smell as much of roses as it could do. It may ultimately be a good thing with the breakaway ‘European Super League’ surely averted and rebel groups brought to the table but, as found in politics, it is sometimes very hard to negotiate with dictators. UEFA and FIFA, and their pockets, may be about to find that out to their cost.