Chief executive says spending ‘breathes life’ into rivals ‘I don’t see how it’s suffocating [the European game]’ Chief executive says spending ‘breathes life’ into rivals ‘I don’t see how it’s suffocating [the European game]’ Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, has denied that the English top flight’s transfer spending is damaging European football, arguing instead that it “breathes life” into rival competitions. Masters made the claim as he took stock of the Premier League’s