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Topics: Rugby, Liverpool, Manchester United
Chris Byfield
Liverpool and Manchester United’s owners are going head-to-head to buy teams in a breakaway rugby union league, it has been claimed.
As per the Mail, Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who also own the Boston Red Sox, and Manchester United majority shareholders the Glazer family are among the parties interested in becoming franchise owners in R360.
R360, which is set to begin in September 2026 on free-to-air television, is said to be offering million-dollar salaries and hopes to create a ‘generational change’ in rugby.
The breakaway league, which is being driven by England’s 2003 World Cup winner Mike Tindall and agent Mark Spoors, has reportedly secured backing for a eight men’s teams at a cost of around £15million each.
While it is uncertain where central funding will come from, Tindall and Spoors are said to have attracted heavy hitting external investment that will help them sign the world’s best players.
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Indeed, contracts worth up to $1m (£740,000) a season are reportedly being offered to some of rugby’s biggest names.
The league has until September to sign up 200 players, with the maiden campaign set to run from September to December 2026, with just an initial eight games in total.
The second and third season will reportedly have 16 games a season, which is thought to be an attractive prospect to players given the reduced workload compared to the current club season.
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At present England players who join the breakaway league would have to give up their Test careers, as RFU only permits Premiership players to be available for selection.
R360 are looking for the league to work alongside international rugby.
The Mail report claims that the eight men’s teams will eventually have 35-person squads and be based in London, Tokyo, Dubai, Cape Town, Boston, Miami and two other venues still to be decided. Four women’s sides are also set to be created in time.