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• Rivals clubs distance themselves from TV rights proposal
• Liverpool want overseas rights sold on club-by-club basis

Manchester United and Chelsea are among several clubs who have moved to distance themselves from Liverpool’s proposal to break from the Premier League’s collective selling model.

It is understood that Manchester United, who claim to have 333m fans globally and have targeted overseas sponsorship revenue as a route to increase income, will oppose any moves to challenge the status quo under which the Premier League sells television rights overseas on behalf of all 20 clubs.

A spokesman for Chelsea said: “We are supportive of the Premier League on this and want to continue with the way they sell collectively.”

United insiders pointed out that their chief executive David Gill had repeatedly underlined the support of the club’s owners, the Glazer family, for the collective model. Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry earlier this year, Gill said “the collective selling of the television rights has clearly been a success and it has made things more competitive”.

It is also understood that Arsenal, Manchester City and Spurs will continue to back the collective selling arrangement, under which revenues from overseas broadcasters are shared out equally. Last season, each club received £17.9m.

The public stance of other big clubs will come as a disappointment to Liverpool, who were understood to believe that others would back them up. Ayre said that the fact that clubs in other countries, notably Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, negotiated their own rights deals gave them a growing financial advantage over English clubs.

Without the support of those who stand to benefit most the idea would be dead in the water, because none of the League’s smaller clubs would vote for something that would hugely disadvantage them.

Overseas revenues could outstrip the domestic deal, currently worth £2.1bn over three years, for the first time when the Premier League launches its tender process next year.

Liverpool would need to persuade 13 of their fellow Premier League clubs of the merit of the plan in order to force through the change. Any significant change to the Premier League rulebook requires a two thirds majority.

Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre became the first representative of a big Premier League team since Peter Kenyon at Manchester United in 2003 to challenge the collective sale of overseas TV rights, which brought in £1.4bn over the three years to 2012/13.

Ayre said: “Is it right that the international rights are shared equally between all the clubs? Some people will say: ‘Well you’ve got to all be in it to make it happen.’ But isn’t it really about where the revenue is coming from, which is the broadcaster, and isn’t it really about who people want to watch on that channel? We know it is us. And others.

“At some point we definitely feel there has to be some rebalance on that, because what we are actually doing is disadvantaging ourselves against other big European clubs.”

LiverpoolChelseaManchester UnitedPremier LeagueOwen Gibsonguardian.co.uk

• Lille loanee sets sights on forcing his way back into squad
• ‘I see no reason why I won’t get back in the [England] team’

Joe Cole says he has not given up on his international career after his season-long loan move from Liverpool to Lille.

The midfielder, whose last appearance in an England shirt came in the final 30 minutes of England’s 4-1 defeat to Germany at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, told BBC Sport: “I’ve won everything in England and had a successful career. In 10 games I’ll be back playing my best football and I see no reason why I won’t get back in the [England] team.”

The 29-year-old Cole, who is yet to make his debut for last season’s Ligue 1 champions, has won 56 caps for the national side since making his debut in May 2001 and endured international exile before, making no appearances between September 2008 and May 2010. But he has not been picked in Fabio Capello’s squad since the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro in October 2010 and has made just three appearances for the national side in the last three years.

Joe ColeLiverpoolLilleEnglandJohn Ashdownguardian.co.uk

• ‘We felt last season we were lacking a bit of pace’
• Versatility and experience key to Bellamy signing

The signing of Craig Bellamy illustrates that Liverpool want a new mould of attacking player, according to Director of Football Damien Comolli. ‘What we really liked is the fact he is so versatile. He can play wide, he can play up front, he can play off the target man, so he is an ideal complement to the squad we have built during the summer,’ he said.

The 32 year-old Welsh forward is manager Kenny Dalglish’s seventh signing since taking charge in January, and Comolli revealed Bellamy’s signing was part of a wider strategy.

‘In the cases of Jose Enrique, Jordan [Henderson] and Stewart [Downing], they are all very quick,’ he said ‘and it’s something we wanted to emphasise because we felt last season we were lacking a bit of pace.

‘We knew we had to let some players go, some players wanted minutes they weren’t getting here, and for several weeks we had first team players training with the reserves because the squad was so big here at Melwood. We [have] reduced the number dramatically and we feel we added quality as well.’

Comolli also criticsed the scheduling of this week’s international fixtures for clashing with the transfer window. ‘It’s one of those bizarre things that FIFA have put together, to put an international fixture at the end of the transfer window with all the international players being away,’ he said. ‘I’d like to really thank Gary Speed and the Welsh FA for allowing Craig to travel. They let him go early this afternoon to make sure the deal could be completed. They were very helpful and we are very grateful for that.’

Craig BellamyLiverpoolKenny DalglishPremier LeagueTransfer windowguardian.co.uk