Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters Tells BBC Sport It Is "Absolutely Critical" That Fans Are Allowed Back Inside Stadiums As Soon As Possible.

The Premier League chief suggested that failure to do so will cost clubs £700m during the 2020-21 season, which starts on Saturday.

Currently no fans will be admitted to top-flight games before October at the earliest in England and Richard Masters told BBC Sport that matches behind closed doors "can't go on forever", as clubs have already lost more than half a billion pounds from the disruption to the final quarter of last season.

"We have to get back to fans inside stadia as quickly as possible - that's the big thing that's missing, economic or otherwise - we need fans back inside stadiums for all sorts of reasons and it's the number one priority," he said.

"It's not just the loss of matchday revenue," he added. "Every Premier League match on average generates about £20m for the economy both local and national so we want to play our part in helping the economy to recover as well.

"I think perhaps there is a perception the Premier League economy can withstand just about anything, but if you do lose £700m out of a planned budget it's going to affect things and clubs have had to make some very difficult decisions.

"That is why it is important we focus on those three key objectives and obviously everyone hopes that from next season we can return to full normality, but it's a huge challenge going forward.

"Financial issues are very real, they're there, economic uncertainty is in front of us, and we just have to have a clear plan and stick to it.”