Galatasaray chairman says Champions League restructuring a 'reality'

The UEFA Champions League rules could be changed in next few years

Galatasaray chairman, Unal Aysal, has claimed that 15-20 top European clubs some of which include Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain have come together to discuss a plan for a championship which will only include Europe’s elite clubs, Inside World Football reports.

The agreement between the UEFA and the European Clubs Association is set to expire in 2018 but ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said that the ECA will continue its association with the UEFA.

Rummenigge was quoted as saying: “Our European Super League is the UEFA Champions League! We are very happy with the current competitions and our extremely fruitful collaboration with UEFA. We will continue to work together with UEFA, and this beyond 2018.”

Galatasaray is one of the 214 clubs listed with the ECA and may be included in the new competition.

“The first 15-20 big clubs of Europe all agree with this, nobody will say no, Manchester United, Paris St Germain, Real Madrid, of course,” said Aysal, who declared himself unhappy with the Champions League status quo, having drawn €24.8 million in UEFA prize money which was the least of last season’s quarter-finalists.

“There may be one or two exceptions for local reasons, political reasons, and I will understand.

“But as [for] the future for European clubs and the future of football, nobody can say no to this. It’s not just me. Other clubs presidents and chairmen are looking at this opportunity and talking to each other I think we will come together and look into each other’s eyes and follow it.

“We are now testing the ground, but for logistics you have to invest and to start to invest you have to be sure you have the full support of everybody. Every reality starts with a dream. At the moment it looks like a dream, a vision, I am sure sooner or later, in a maximum of five years’ time, it will be a reality.

“In the end the clubs will always be right because the clubs are the actors and the actors have to decide their fate and their future and their destiny.”

The ECA’s general secretary, Michele Centenaro, dismissed Aysal’s proclamation saying: “This is never something we have discussed in our association,”

Juventus president, Andrea Agnelli, welcomed the idea saying: “If one wants to break out of the system then probably the best competition is a closed copmpetition with the 20 best European clubs”

“When you look at the positional papers of UEFA of a European system or US system you ask do we want this? We can have a secession but do 20 clubs have the discipline to send a letter to UEFA and to organise a competition overnight?

“The commercial product in sports show that this would be the best you can have. It would have a closed system with no promotion and relegation.”

Aysal confessed that the idea could become a reality “This has energised the process,” he said. “Sponsors will be very interested in this new money-making process.

“I’ve spoken to international companies who are interested in sponsoring. Two of them are big brands.”