By Andrew Warshaw
February 10 – Europe’s top clubs are playing down renewed talk of a breakaway super league but are discussing how the Champions League might be tweaked in the future.
European Clubs’ Association (ECA) boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (pictured) has recently refused to rule out “a European league with the biggest teams from Italy, Germany, England, Spain and France.”
Chief executive of Bayern Munich, Rummenigge told a German newspaper last month: “A super league outside of the Champions League is being born. It will either be led by UEFA or by a separate entity, because there is a limit to how much money can be made.”
Rummenigge did not elaborate on this on Tuesday because was not present at an ECA press conference following the organisation’s annual assembly.
But ECA senior vice-chairman Umberto Gandini said no discussions about a super league had taken place. Instead, a review into the Champions League format would take six to nine months and would look to make the competition “more and more attractive” before UEFA begins selling commercial rights for 2018-21.
“We will listen to the main actors of the competition and UEFA itself and find out what is best,” Gandini said. “”We are following the usual path, every three years we analyse with UEFA, within the ECA, the success of the competition, the possible amendments, changes, and this is exactly the phase we’re in at the moment. It may be just a slight change to the access list, it may be many aspects of the competition that can be reviewed and adjusted.”
The ECA represents more than 200 clubs, including all Europe’s big guns, and there is talk of some of these being given guaranteed entry to the Champions League on merit. Clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester United have each missed out in at least one of the last few seasons.
“We’re starting the review process … to see with UEFA which improvements we can bring to have the most attractive football product,” said Gandini.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, who like Gandini attended the press conference in Paris, said UEFA general-secretary Gianni Infantino’s globe trotting in his capacity as a FIFA presidential candidate was unsettling for the clubs.
“Our contact points are not continually present as it was before. It goes without saying it is a trying time for us,” said Aulas.
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