Radical changes threaten Europe club football

TIMESLIVE

                          

Dalian Wanda Group, the property and entertainment conglomerate of billionaire Wang Jianlin, has denied pushing for a new competition but did admit to talks designed to "explore ways in which sports and business can be further developed".
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A new breakaway Champions League remains a serious option ahead of crunch talks over potentially radical changes to the structure of European club football.

The global popularity of the English Premier League is continuing to alarm clubs across other major leagues, which are increasingly looking to European competition as their area of revenue growth.
Meetings have been held to discuss options which, as well as a new tournament, would become more concentrated between the most marketable clubs in Europe.

Several documents have been circulating with proposals that range from a completely new competition to tweaks to the existing one. It is understood that one proposal is to create a single expanded European competition that would guarantee at least six places for the biggest leagues.
Dalian Wanda Group, the property and entertainment conglomerate of billionaire Wang Jianlin, has denied pushing for a new competition but did admit to talks designed to "explore ways in which sports and business can be further developed".
Italian and Spanish clubs are leading the push for the widest-ranging overhaul. The English and the German clubs are relatively relaxed.
The EPL's new £5.14-billion broadcast deal already dwarfs the money on offer in other leagues, with its allure evident in the appointments of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte and Jürgen Klopp.
The Champions League has struggled to keep pace with the EPL's revenue growth. Last season, for example, Real Madrid earned less from winning an 11th European Cup than the top 11 English teams from their involvement in the Premier League.
That gap is expected to grow further in the current broadcast cycle from 2016.