French president Emmanuel Macron ‘wants Premier League to end after talks with Germany, Italy and Spain to end seasons’

FOLLOWING the decision to cancel French football until September, Emmanuel Macron is reportedly pushing for the UK, Spain, Germany and Italy to follow suit.

Earlier this week, Ligue 1 and 2 joined the Dutch Eredivisie in cancelling the 2019/20 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Football bosses in the country were planning a return to training in May before completing the season the following month, much like the agenda still in place across the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A.

However French president Macron is said by Le Parisien to be pushing for a Europe-wide cancellation of sport to help deal with the pandemic.

Sport minister Roxana Maracineanu reportedly contacted his counterparts in Italy and Germany after Tuesday's announcement and is also set for talks with Spanish ministers.

This information exchange may have been behind the cautious tone displayed by Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora when he spoke on Wednesday.

He told reporters in Rome: "I see an increasingly narrow path for the resumption of the Serie A.

"If I were one of the [club] presidents I would focus on the next season.

"[French and Dutch] decisions could push Italy to follow this line, which would become a European line."

Uefa are asking countries to set out their plan for football's return by the end of May, at which point some hope to be on the verge of restarting domestic action.

Plans are being formulated to complete league games by the end of July before a small window to play out European competitions.

Having not played since early March, English clubs are slowly coming back to training with the middle of May earmarked for ramping up preparations while maintaining social distancing measures.

However players and club medical staff are among those privately voicing concerns for their safety and at taking up valuable testing resources, according to reports.

Germany is set to lead the way for football's return with a comparatively lower number of deaths meaning their top teams are already back in training.

Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the nation on Thursday with an update on Bundesliga's touted resumption on May 9 expected.