Talks to begin after Asia accuse Europe of exploitation

Mohamed Bin Hammam, the AFC president, supported comments by Urs Linsi, the Fifa general secretary, who accused European clubs of making money out of Asia and robbing the continent's struggling domestic leagues of funds.

Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona have toured the Far East this year with the aim of enhancing their brand names. They charge huge match fees, with Real reported to have earned £14m from their trip.

"I am supporting Urs," Hammam said. "We are very concerned about European teams coming to Asia and leaving after collecting money, without leaving any kind of legacy behind. They did not do anything to help national associations with any kind of football programmes.

"We have spoken to the Premier League and they agree that English clubs should not only come to Asia to play and leave but to play and leave behind some sort of contribution to football in Asia."

The president said the AFC was unable to force European clubs to take a moral stand over their profit margins but warned that Asian fans would not be fooled judging by the lower-than-expected turn-outs.

"I must stress that we are in no way against English or European teams coming to Asia," Hammam said. "Asians love English football. They are stars and role models for us so they have a moral obligation as well as a contractual obligation when they play here. They can have a very positive effect on Asian football."

In England, football finance experts expect a decline in the trend of money leaving the country as a result of clubs buying players from abroad. A report by the business consultants Deloitte last month suggested a large increase in money leaving the English game in 2003/04, but these results are not expected to be the same for the season just completed.

In any case, Alan Switzer, of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, believes the Premiership benefits even if money is leaving the country. He said that with the purchase of top players from abroad and the full houses to watch them play, it strengthened the brand of English football.