UEFA Champions League - News and Rumors

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Premier League clubs meet to discuss new European league which could be approved by UEFA as soon as September

* UEFA are open to a new Champions League format in a new shake-up
* It would be the closest step to a European Super League yet if it happens
* New format could be in place ready for 2018-19 season after the World Cup
* Both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all met last month
* Relevant Sports, which runs International Champions Cup, also involved

European football faces its greatest shake-up in nearly a quarter of a century under proposals being discussed by Premier League and foreign clubs.

UEFA are open to a new Champions League format that could be approved by September and put in place for the 2018-19 season. One possibility is a new knockout phase followed by a 16-team group stage split into two divisions of eight, playing 14 games home and away.

It is designed to eliminate the weaker teams early on and guarantee the strongest groups for what would represent the closest step yet to a European Super League, and the most radical change since the Champions League replaced the knockout format of the European Cup 24 years ago.

As part of this proposal, Europe’s top leagues would have more representatives, with the Premier League seeing a significant increase in the current quota of four qualifiers.

Senior figures from English football’s ‘Big Five’ — the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool — met in London earlier this month to discuss possible formats. They were joined by a representative of Relevent Sports, the US-based company responsible for the International Champions Cup, which has become an important summer competition for England’s top teams.

There is no threat what-soever to the Premier League, with all five clubs wary of compromising the new £5.14billion television deal that comes into effect later this year — not to mention an additional £2.37bn in overseas rights. On the contrary, the changes are being driven by European clubs envious of Premier League riches and determined to earn more from the Champions League.



Representatives of some Premier League clubs met at the launch of International Champions Cup on Tuesday

At present, winning Europe’s top club competition is worth up to £50m. From next season, the Premier League title winners will net £150m. Even the team finishing bottom will receive £100m.

European clubs know a guaranteed total of 14 games would make a major difference to the money generated by the Champions League in terms of ticketing, TV rights and sponsorship deals. The latter work on a three-year cycle and are due for renewal, hence the need to table any proposals in September.

UEFA are ready to accept the changes because, commercially, they know the Champions League is not thriving. They recognise the need for more games involving the bigger clubs rather than sticking with a system that gives the champions of smaller nations a better chance of progressing. Bate Borisov, winners of the Belarus league 10 years in a row, have been held up as a club that could be taken out of the equation at an earlier stage in future.

The new format would be bound to have an impact on the Europa League, although it remains to be seen what form that would take.

Among the changes discussed by the Big Five to accommodate a more demanding Champions League schedule are scrapping FA Cup replays and implementing a one-week winter break after the busy Christmas programme.

However, the Capital One Cup would not be under threat because Premier League clubs value the opportunity it gives them to play fringe players, and also because the timing of fixtures through to the final works well in the schedule.

The most delicate issue is how to combine a tougher Champions League with the increasing demands of domestic football. That remains a tough balancing act because it has been proven that the success of the Premier League makes it harder for English clubs to compete in Europe.

The emergence of Leicester City, Tottenham and West Ham as title contenders this season has underlined the higher levels of competition in the Premier League, and the difficulty the top clubs have experienced in balancing their commitments at home and abroad.

Privately, the Premier League’s top clubs accept that in future they will effectively have to stock two separate teams of players to cope with the demands of domestic and European football.

For them, the challenge is about to get a whole lot harder.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3506811/Premier-League-clubs-meet-discuss-new-European-league-approved-UEFA-soon-September.html

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Arsenal qualify for Champions League after Manchester United's defeat means they can finish no lower than fourth position

* That defeat for Louis van Gaal means Arsenal will finish in the top four
* Arsenal have qualified for Europe's elite competition for 20 years

Manchester United's defeat by West Ham on Tuesday night was good news for Arsenal, who again qualified for Champions League football under Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal will play in Europe's elite competition for the 19th successive season because they can finish no lower than fourth in the Barclays Premier League.

They sit third on 68 points ‒ five ahead of Louis van Gaal's team who succumbed to two goals in the 76th and 80th minutes at Upton Park to leave them all but out of the race for a top-four finish.



Manchester United's defeat by West Ham means Arsene Wenger's Arsenal will finish in the top four

For Arsenal to finish fourth they would need to lose to Aston Villa, while Manchester City would need to win away at Swansea City.

Finishing fourth is enough to earn a place in the final qualifying round of the Champions League, even if Liverpool do win their Europa League final against Sevilla.

For Manchester United to finish fourth they would need to beat Bournemouth, but hope that Manchester City lose at Swansea because of their inferior goal difference.

Leicester City have already been confirmed as champions and Tottenham Hotspur have been left to fight for second place.

Arsenal can finish above their north London rivals but only by beating Aston Villa and hoping that Tottenham lose away to Newcastle United.

Jack Wilshere, the Arsenal midfielder, told his team-mates they have to be prepared for a tough fight against a side playing for pride when they host Aston Villa.

'I don't know what happened to Aston Villa this season but I don't expect them to come and just let us beat them,' Wilshere told the London Evening Standard.

'We said a few weeks back that we don't want to get fourth. We don't want to have to face a qualifier. We want to be straight in there and enjoy the season without having to play a big game beforehand.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3583859/Arsenal-qualify-Champions-League-Manchester-United-s-defeat-means-finish-no-lower-fourth-position.html

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UEFA set to decide on changes to the Champions League format in December after top clubs talk of Super League breakaway

* The European Club Association have spoken about setting up a Super League
* UEFA are set to elect a new president to replace banned Michel Platini
* Talks a due to take place in December about the Champions League format

UEFA will decide in December whether or not to change the Champions League as Europe's top clubs chase a new format and bigger share of the competition's multi-million pound annual income.

Closed-door meetings of European football leaders in Milan around Saturday's Champions League final, making slow progress shaping the competition for the three seasons from 2018.

Talk of a breakaway Super League was fueled in January by some wealthy members of the European Club Association (ECA) who saw uncertainty over UEFA's leadership during the FIFA presidential election.

Though an American-style closed league is thought unrealistic, one aim is making the current 32-team group stage more attractive to the biggest clubs and global TV viewers.

UEFA's election on September 14, to finally replace its banned president Michel Platini, is a key step for Europe's governing body to focus fully on its asset.

The new president will lead a meeting of the policy-making executive committee on September 15, but Champions League decisions are foreseen for a December session in Nyon, Switzerland.



UEFA are set to make a decision on the format of the current Champions League

'We need a format by the end of the year,' UEFA's director of competitions, Giorgio Marchetti said in Milan. 'We are consulting and we are listening.'

The July 20 entry deadline for UEFA election contenders will also speed the debate, with the Champions League format offering a campaign test for the next president.

Options include more guaranteed entries for the strongest leagues, protected places for the biggest clubs, and playing matches on Saturdays rather than midweek to appeal to Asian and American audiences.

Change is possible only every three years. It must be agreed before UEFA's retained agency, TEAM Marketing, can start selling Champions League and Europa League rights to broadcasters and sponsors for the next commercial cycle.

In the last round of talks, for the 2015-18 cycle, the Europa League was boosted by rewarding the title-winner with entry to the Champions League.

There are concerns that a too-predictable group stage turns off viewers, and that income - UEFA sales and top clubs' share of it - is not keeping pace with expectations.

The 32 group-stage clubs will share almost £988 million in prize money from UEFA each season through 2018.

Still, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has noted that the 32-franchise NFL gets much more TV revenue, despite a smaller core fan base and little broad appeal outside the United States. The Champions League final typically draws a global average TV audience of around 170 million, compared to 110 million in the US for a Super Bowl.

Some clubs also look enviously at England's Premier League which is watched avidly worldwide. Last-placed Aston Villa's share of TV rights - almost £68.2m - will outstrip Champions League winner Real Madrid's income from UEFA.

Agnelli and Real Madrid official Pedro Lopez are members of both key groups which met at Milan's opulent Principe di Savoia hotel in recent days: UEFA's club competitions committee and the ECA executive board.

Madrid president Florentino Perez declined to comment in Milan.

The UEFA club panel, including presidential contender Michael van Praag of the Netherlands, will advise the UEFA executive committee. Agnelli and influential ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge of Bayern Munich also have seats at UEFA's top table and should take part in the December decision.

The potentially divisive Champions League debate played out in Milan after the two city clubs, AC and Inter, plus Manchester United - all winners in the past 10 years - again missed out on qualifying.

However, English clubs seem happier with the present format and cash distribution by UEFA. Manchester United's executive vice chairman Ed Woodward also declined to speak with reporters after attending Saturday's ECA board meeting.

The last match of the current Champions League commercial contracts - the final in May 2018 - still does not have a venue.

Kiev was the preferred option under Platini but the politics of Ukraine and Russia, plus UEFA's own, have delayed a decision.

Ukraine's most influential official, Hrigoriy Surkis, a UEFA vice president and former Dynamo Kiev president, declined a request in Milan to speak with The AP.

UEFA should decide in December on the 2018 venue, at the same executive meeting that will shape the future Champions League.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3617381/UEFA-set-decide-changes-Champions-League-format-December-clubs-talk-Super-League-breakaway.html

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Champions League to go global? Group games could be played outside Europe as UEFA face pressure

* UEFA under pressure to play Champions League games outside of Europe
* Italian and Spanish sides want to see fixtures played in different continents
* Secret talks on the matter took place around the Champions League final

Champions League group games could be played outside Europe as UEFA come under pressure from Spanish and Italian clubs.

They want to see some games played in the Far East, the USA and Africa to cash in on those markets.

They have seen the riches rolling into the Premier League and are determined to maximise overseas income in the next cycle of broadcasting rights.


Secret talks took place on playing outside of Europe around May's Champions League final

There were secret talks on the matter around the Champions League final, when Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid met in Milan in May.

Five of the last seven Italian Super Cups have been played in China and Qatar and this year’s game between Juventus and AC Milan is expected to be played in Abu Dhabi in December.

To the backdrop of the veiled threat of a breakaway competition, other proposals to be discussed by UEFA’s executive committee in December include extending the group stage or launching a mini-league stage and moving some games to the weekends for the benefit of a worldwide TV audience.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3722404/Champions-League-global-Group-games-played-outside-Europe-UEFA-face-pressure.html

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Manchester United have to be in the Champions League... it's empty without them, insists Jose Mourinho

* Jose Mourinho targets a Champions League return for Manchester United
* United have failed to qualify in two of the last three seasons
* Mourinho: Zlatan Ibrahimovic's arrival is a gift for Marcus Rashford

Jose Mourinho has declared the Champions League as 'empty' without Manchester United's presence in it this season.

Despite winning the competition twice in it's current guise, and thrice overall, United have failed to qualify for Europe's elite-club spectacle for the second time in three years.

Newly-appointed manager Mourinho will be hoping to improve that trend this season in the Premier League and the Portuguese is adamant that the Champions League has lost some of it's allure without the Old Trafford outfit.


Jose Mourinho believes the Champions League is 'empty' without Manchester United

'Man United has to be in the Champions League,' he told BT Sport exclusively. 'I think that the Champions League is empty when Man United is not there.

'Imagine the Champions League without Man United, Real Madrid, Barcelona.

'There are a certain numbers of clubs that make it not a Champions League without these clubs. That’s Man United and their natural habitat.'

A fifth-place position at the end of last season has resulted in the Red Devils facing Europa League football this term - an outcome that Mourinho is desperate to change in the future as he seeks silverware.

'I wouldn’t be happy with just finishing in the top four,' he added.

'I would be happy with that but plus a greater evolution in the team in terms of our evolved football - opening the door for in the next couple of years back to winning titles.


Mourinho is targeting an instant return to the Champions League for United this season

'I don’t like to go to the players and tell them "let’s try to finish in the top four" - let’s try to win every game. We won’t and we know that, especially in this country - at this moment it is impossible for anyone.

'But to have that as a starting point, let’s go to every game and try to win every game. But I think a big club like we are, we need to have this mentality.'

A winning mentality is ingrained in Mourinho's managerial DNA - having won various silverware in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain.

Bar last season's FA Cup win, the only pieces of silverware United have had their hands on since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement are two Community Shield triumphs.

Having spent over £150m this summer to acquire Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly - expectations of United returning to the top of the English game are high. However, this pressure doesn't faze Mourinho.

'I feel the responsibility, as I mentioned of the job. It’s obviously a worldwide attention. I feel that in the city of Manchester, people feel the club with such a passion,' he added.

'I feel the responsibility, yes, but not the pressure. To be fair in football, I always had big jobs on my hands, ever since Porto.

'Porto were a big club in Portugal and I had some of the biggest clubs in England, in Spain, in Italy and I live and learn how to live with that responsibility.

'I think it’s good for me because it’s a way to motivate myself, to feel this good feeling that when I don’t have it, I miss it.

'I think every job is a different job but the reality is that every club that I go out to is a club with clear objectives.

'When I go to Inter, they were dreaming of the Champions League for 50 years.

'When I go to Real Madrid they were desperate to stop Barcelona’s dominance.

'When I got to Chelsea for the first time, the club was dreaming about the first title under the new owner.

'The second time the club was in an empty period of Premier League titles and then I came here with a difficult period of three years, where the FA Cup was great but the fact that in the past three years we couldn’t qualify twice for the Champions League. So clear objectives are in my hands.

'The dream is to win matches, to win lots of matches and you cannot do that without playing very well. What is playing very well? That depends on the way people think. To me, to play very well means to score one more than the opponent.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3731998/Manchester-United-Champions-League-s-without-insists-Jose-Mourinho.html

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Iker Casillas sets new record for most Champions League wins... but former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo could overtake him

* Iker Casillas has won 92 games in the Champions League for Real Madrid and Porto
* Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest placed player on the list who is still playing
* Ryan Giggs won two Champions Leagues with Manchester United and 74 games

Iker Casillas helped Porto to a 2-1 win away at Brugge and in doing so set the record for the most wins in the Champions League.

The goalkeeper has won 92 games in Europe’s top competition spanning his career for Real Madrid and Porto.

Casillas made an immediate impact in his debut Champions League season for Real when he became the youngest player to play in goal at the 19 years and four days old and helped them win the competition when they beat Valencia in Paris in the 1999/2000 season.


Iker Casillas celebrates Porto's win over Bruggs to take his tally to 92 Champions League wins

It was the first of three Champions League titles he won with Real over his 16 year career at the Bernabeu.

Porto’s win in Belgium took Casillas to 92 wins in the competition – one ahead of former Barcelona star Xavi – and if the Portuguese side are to get out of the group then they will need to win a few more games as they currently sit third behind Leicester and Copenhagen.

At 35 Casillas is sure to have a few more seasons left to play and will have the opportunity to extend his record.

But with Xavi retired, the biggest threat to his record comes from his former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo who is 11 wins behind on 81. And with the holders going well in Europe there is every chance that the Portugal super star will be able to narrow the gap this season.

MOST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINS

Champions League---Games Won
Iker Casillas 92
Xavi 91
Cristiano Ronaldo 81
Raul 79
Ryan Giggs 74
Andres Iniesta 71
Carles Puyol 67
Philipp Lahm 66
Clarence Seedorf 65
Víctor Valdes 64
Roberto Carlos 64

Another of Casillas’ former team-mates, Raul is next on the list with 79 wins in the Champions League and then comes two-time winner and Manchester United hero Ryan Giggs who has 74 wins to his name.

Barcelona star Andres Iniesta has won 71 times while his former captain at the Nou Camp is next with 67 wins in Europe's premier club competition.


Ryan Giggs won the Champions League twice with Manchester United and won 74 games

One-time winner and two-time runner-up Philipp Lahm is next on the list with 66 wins – one ahead of Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf.

The next goalkeeper on the list is ex-Barcelona stopper Victor Valdes who has won 64 Champions League wins – including three in finals.

Former Real Madrid star Roberto Carlos also has 64 wins and can match both Valdes and Casillas for three Champions League titles.

Casillas will have a chance to win his 93rd game in the Champions League when Porto face Brugge again in the return fixture on November 2.

If Porto were to go on a run to the final this season, it could see Casillas move up to three figures in terms of wins with 10 games remaining this season.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3851182/Iker-Casillas-sets-new-record-Champions-League-wins-former-team-mate-Cristiano-Ronaldo-overtake-him.html

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European leagues agree to new UEFA cooperation deal to avoid domestic and Champions League clashes

* Europe's top leagues say they will renew a working agreement with UEFA
* The agreement ensures domestic and Champions League clashes are avoided
* Criticisms were levelled at the previous deal over favouritism and fixtures

Europe's top football leagues say they will renew a working agreement with UEFA that avoids clashes between domestic and Champions League games.

European Professional Football Leagues chairman Lars-Christer Olsson says the cooperation deal is being finalized, and UEFA should ratify it in September.

The previous deal ended in March amid leagues criticizing UEFA's changes to the 2018-21 Champions League seasons.


Europe's top football leagues say they will renew their working agreement with UEFA

Issue was also brought up regarding the favoring of clubs in Europe's four wealthiest and strongest soccer countries.

European leagues now will not schedule midweek games head-to-head with the Champions League next season. The deal also makes it tougher for clubs to push for regular Champions League games on Saturdays from 2021.

Olsson says "if there is no (leagues') agreement, there will be no changes."
The working deal runs through May 2022.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4578976/European-leagues-agree-new-UEFA-cooperation-deal.html

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UEFA confirm Premier League top four WILL qualify directly into Champions League group stages with new format to be implemented for 2018-19 season

* UEFA have altered the Champions League and Europa League formats
* Format changes will be implemented from the start of the 2018-19 season
* The top four teams from England will gain automatic entry into the group stages
* Germany, Spain and Italy's top four will also avoid Champions League qualifying
* Match times will be staggered, following the Europa League format

The top four in the Premier League will gain direct passage into the Champions League group stages, UEFA has confirmed.

The changes are set to be introduced for the start of the 2018-19 competition, which will also see the top four teams in Spain, Italy and Germany skip the qualifying rounds.

Previously of course, the fourth-placed team in these leagues would have had to negotiate their way through a two-legged qualifier before gaining access into the group phases.


The Premier League top four will gain automatic places in the Champions League group stages

UEFA officially announced the changes to the structures of both the Champions League and Europa League in 2016, which have now been explained on its official website.

It is a change that sees 26 European teams, compared to the 22 of the old format, qualify directly into the Champions League group stages based on their league performance. This includes the winners of the Champions League and Europa League the season before, with six qualifying positions up for grabs.

As things stand, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham would claim the four places, with Chelsea and Arsenal falling just short.

As well as the confirmation that England's top four sides, due to its coefficient ranking of third, no longer need to squabble over a qualifying place, UEFA have also announced staggered match times.


UEFA announced changes to the format in 2016, which will be implemented next season. The fourth-placed team from England, Spain Germany, and Italy will avoid qualifying. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has also confirmed VAR will not be introduced next season

This will see fixtures run between 5.55pm and 8pm - similar to the second tier of European competition.

But while the European football governing body will not be altering the competition from the group stages onwards, UEFA have introduced preliminary rounds to run before the first qualifying phase begin.

Beginning at the end of June - overlapping with next summer's World Cup in Russia which concludes midway through July - the Champions League will operate its preliminary event as a mini knockout tournament.

Four teams will enter at this stage and contest a semi-final and final for a place in the first qualifying round.

THE KEY CHANGES

- 26 teams (rather than 22) now gain direct entry into group stages, which includes competition winners.

- Only six qualifying spots in the group stages are up for grabs, rather than 10.

- A new preliminary round has been added to the qualifying phase.

- The competition will run on staggered match times, similar to the Europa League.

In a further announcement, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has insisted there will be no use of VAR next season.

'Fans see the VAR screen all the time but nobody knows how it works,' he said. 'We will not use it in the Champions League next season. For me, it might be a good project but we shouldn't rush it.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5440481/Top-four-qualify-Champions-League-group-stages.html