Europe's top clubs want changes to Champions League but play down breakaway 'super league'

The European Club Association has been holding its 16th general assembly in Paris

The Champions League trophy (Getty)

Europe’s leading clubs have denied they are considering forming a breakaway ‘super league’ as discussions about the future of the Champions League continue.

The European Club Association (ECA) has been holding its 16th general assembly in Paris with officials from 143 clubs attending. The umbrella body has announced a review of the Champions League and Europa League with the results due in the next 12 months.

The ECA says changes must be made to help both competitions become more attractive to prospective sponsors and supporters.

ECA senior vice-chairman Umberto Gandini, also a director at Italian club AC Milan, said: “We are not designing anything at the moment. We are starting a review process of the Champions League and working with Uefa to see which improvements we can bring in to have the most attractive football product every year.

“The process will last six to nine months maximum but it is clear we have to take into account all the measures to make it more and more attractive.

“There is not any kind of understanding that we have to change the Champions League. We will listen to the main actors of the competition and Uefa itself and find out what is best.

“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.”


 Reports have suggested teams like Leicester could find it harder to qualify for Europe in future
 (Getty)

There have been concerns that Europe’s elite clubs will petition for automatic qualification to the Champions League, minimising the chances of another footballing fairy-tale like Leicester City’s current Premier League campaign.

The ECA has also opposed proposals put forward by the Fifa reform committee to expand the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams.

An ECA statement said: “Once again ECA expresses its disagreement with the possible increase in the number of teams participating in the World Cup from 32 to 40, as proposed by the Fifa reform committee.

“The healthy balance between club and national team football must not be put at risk. The burden imposed on players has reached its limits; all football stakeholders must protect the players, the key element of the game, from physical overload.”