Oil-rich billionaires could offer up to £175m to the world's biggest clubs just to take part in a summer 'Dream Football League'.

The tournament - to be held in six cities in the Gulf region every other year, starting in 2015 - would involve 24 elite clubs.

Organisers would hope to attract four English clubs from Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to take part, a report in The Times today claims.

The DFL would be bankrolled by the Qatari royal family in the hope it would rival or even overtake the Champions League and Club World Cup due to the eye-wateringly high sums involved.

The DFL would involve 16 permanent members with eight other teams invited to take part in each tournament.

The report says top clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United would be offered £175m to turn up - massively dwarfing the £47.3m Chelsea banked for actually winning the Champions League last season.

Matches would take place in the 40-degree heat of the Middle Eastern summer but officials have confidence in stadium climate-control technology which will also be used for the 2022 World Cup.

Sponsorship: David Villa celebrates Barcelona goal v Milan in Qatar-branded shirt (
Image:
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno)

The project is apparently being driven from both Qatar and Paris after the recent takeover of Paris Saint-Germain by Qatari Sports Investment.

They would hope to entice Barcelona, given they are sponsored by the Qatar Foundation, shortly to be replaced by Qatar Airways.

Any participation by English clubs would further open up the huge financial chasm between the Premier League's big guns and the rest.

It is not known if Scottish rivals Celtic and Rangers would be invited to join the DFL, which would take place in odd-numbered years to avoid clashing with World Cups and European Championships.

It remains to be seen how the sport's governing bodies, national leagues and potential participants will react to the blueprints.

UEFA and the Premier League did not comment when approached by the newspaper yesterday.