Premier League's Project Restart '100% financially driven' with players as 'commodities', says Tyrone Mings

Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings says players are have been treated as "commodities" with discussions over Project Restart decided by money rather than for the best interest of the sport.

A restart date of June 17 has been provisionally set after weeks of talks, marking 100 days since the league was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Mings is looking forward to playing again but is unhappy with how the players were been treated as those in positions of power decide the fate of the national game.

"The motives are possibly 100 per cent financially driven rather than integrity driven," Mings told the Daily Mail.

"I am all for playing again because we have no other choice. As players, we were the last people to be consulted about Project Restart and that is because of where we fall in football’s order of priority.

"That isn’t a problem. We are commodities in the game and we accept that."

Mings understands money has been a key, perhaps the key, to the return of top-flight football and his job now is to get back on the pitch.

"Project Restart is financially driven," Mings said. "I think everybody accepts that.

"But that’s fine with me because I look at this monster that is Premier League football and the revenue it creates and I didn’t moan about being a part of it when everything was great so I'm not going to moan now when the atmosphere around the game is more hesitant."

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