The idea was for an annual Europe v Rest of the World game to be staged at the Amsterdam Arena and modelled on basketball’s NBA All-star Game. The plans were advanced enough for there to be confidence last Christmas that the top-secret project would go ahead.

The finances were said to stack up, helped considerably by massive Chinese sponsorship, while TV rights were well advanced.

Super agent Jorge Mendes was involved, suggesting his stable of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa, Angel di Maria, Sergio Aguero, James Rodriquez and Radamel Falcao would have been willing participants.

Club managers, such as another Mendes client Jose Mourinho, would not have taken charge of the two sides to avoid conflict. National team bosses would have been hired. There would have been a sliding scale for fees but certainly Ronaldo would have been in the top seven-figure bracket.

However, the major obstacle was the crowded football calendar and the clubs, who would have been paid as well, finally vetoed the all-star game at the January meeting of the European Club Association. 

The clubs had also wanted a bigger share of the proceeds. Robert Bonnier, risk-taking city financier who made and then lost a fortune during the first dotcom bubble, was another well-known name connected with the aborted match.

BT Sport ambassador Jose Mourinho will escape censure from the network after he chose arch rivals Sky’s Goals on Sunday for his 27-minute diatribe on referee Martin Atkinson. 

The grey area of Mourinho’s contract with BT allows him to appear on rival channels — aside from routine managerial commitments — when the club insist. 

Chelsea say Mourinho’s Sky showing was a joint decision made after the 1-1 draw with Burnley. BT are more annoyed with Mourinho’s representatives for letting it happen than Jose himself.

A tweet sent by Swansea’s maverick Dutch director John van Zweden after his club’s victory over Manchester United last weekend is being examined by the FA.

Van Zweden intimated on social media that he bet on the Swans’ win, breaching FA betting regulations — but he has claimed it was not his betting slip posted. The Dutchman, who owns five per cent of Swansea shares, is the subject of a club probe after describing compatriot and Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal as an ‘arrogant b******’ to Dutch media. 

Wallpaper business boss Van Zweden has a chequered past as a convicted football hooligan. The PL are aware of his police record, but it is spent — so he passes the owners and directors test.

(dailymail.co.uk)