Despite an intruiging Champions League draw on Thursday setting up some mouthwatering contests in the group stages, much focus has been on the new changes made by UEFA.
The current system that saw the 4th placed teams from England, Spain and Germany have to progress through the 3rd qualifying round before entering the draw for the group stages has now been abolished. This now sees all top 4 placed teams automatically qualify instead.
You can read more on the changes and its impact with this informative article by the Telegraph.
These changes have mainly happened due to the growing discontent amongst big European clubs who have failed to qualify for the Champions League. Both Milan giants, AC and Inter, will not be participating this year. Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are also missing from an English perspective.
With limited places available in Europes elite competition it is becoming harder to qualify every year. The latest TV deal for the Premier league has already seen record spending meaning things will be more competitive than ever.
In fact according to sport financial experts Forbes, Champions league revenue or rather lack of is the only blemish on some English teams commercial revenue.
With Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all part of the top 10 richest clubs list, there has been great discontent that they are unable to regularly participate in the Champions League. This is coupled with frustration from Europe’s other leading big clubs at the enviable money from the Premier League.
So whilst the changes will guarantee teams qualify for the competition providing they finish within the top 4 of their domestic league, UEFA’s decision actually offers little change.
With the co-efficient ranking system currently suggesting that England’s 4 places are under threat, big clubs will feel that they still face a struggle to compete in the competition every season.
This of course highlights the magnificent achievements of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. He has helped the club qualify for Europe’s elite competition 19 successive seasons in a row. This is even more significant considering they have had to pay off debts of £300 million for the building of their Emirates Stadium.
Whether this has been good enough for Arsenal who have failed to win the Premier League since the ‘invincibles’ season of 2003/2004 has split opinion amongst the fans.
But whilst their consistency has helped them prosper financially from Champions League qualification, other clubs with inconsistent records remain annoyed they can’t compete in the competition due to the limited places on offer.
There are currently 6 English teams in the top 10 rich list. With Tottenham and Liverpool increasing stadium capacities (the latter is a redevelopment whilst Tottenham’s is an entirely new stadium) Champions League football is becoming essential for both clubs.
Forbes Richest Clubs May 2016
1. Real Madrid – £2.52bn
2. Barcelona – £2.46bn
3. Man United – £2.3bn
4.Bayern Munich – £1.85bn
5. Arsenal – £1.4bn
6. Man City – £1.33bn
7. Chelsea – £1.15bn
8. Liverpool – £1.07bn
9. Juventus – £900m
10. Tottenham – £704m
However with their inconsistent form over the last few seasons, a top 4 finish is much more difficult when there are 6 teams competing for it.
So these new changes have actually had little impact from an English perspective. What about elsewhere in Europe?
Well for the Italian league and Spanish league it is a boost as some teams have been knocked out of the 3rd qualifying round this season. The biggest casualty being Roma who were defeated by Porto. Automatic qualification now means that they avoid this potential slip up and will reap the rewards of the Champions League group stages.
However for the big clubs, particularly in Spain with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the changes have little benefit. Their finishing outside the top 3 is rarely in doubt, as is the same with Juventus, PSG and Bayern Munich.
TV deals in these countries whilst fruitful, have yet reached the barmy heights of England’s Premier League.
The Spanish FA’s decision to remove individual TV right deals and install a similar system to England’s means that although the top 2 will not lose money, they will no longer enjoy a vast gap between the other 18 teams in La Liga.
Although lucrative, the Champions league has lost its intruige and struggles to draw the crowds and attention until the latter stages when the big teams finally face off against one another. The new seeding system has helped somewhat, with intruiging ties in the group stages this season – most notably Pep Guardiola’s Man City being drawn with his old club Barcelona.
However these changes to the Champions league seem minor compared to the threat of a breakaway super league. And more importantly its potential.
With big teams playing one another on a regular basis their would doubtless be heightened interest, not to mention increased revenue. It would also offer European teams the chance to enjoy the riches Premier League teams enjoys particularly the TV deals with BskyB (AKA Sky).
The chances of such a league being formed are slim and in reality it is still some way off. In some ways it is a mouth watering prospect seeing the world’s top players play against one another on a weekly basis.
The damage it would do to the overall game though would be insurmountable. The big money would be sucked out of all of the domestic leagues and football clubs leaving them in a vulnerable position. In many ways then, its best not to think too much on what a Super League would mean.
UEFA’s tweaks to its premier competition, if anything, show that they fear this potential idea. Their top clubs rebelling and abandoning them would surely cripple them as well. The latest changes made by UEFA show they are willing to be flexible and recognise the seriousness of a breakaway league.
Whether their changes are significant enough though remains to be seen. Personally I see them having little effect, particularly amongst the big boys. Fundamentally with 6 teams in England having to fit into four places every year, some teams will continue to miss out on a Champions League spot.
This coupled with envious European clubs at the Premier Leagues ever increasing riches means that talks amongst the top teams will continue to bring up the question of a breakaway super league.
Unless UEFA can find a way to accommodate all of them into the Champions League each year and offer financial benefits similar to what the Premier League can provide, then these rumours and discussions of a super league will grow ever louder.
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