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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Ben Banks

Aleksander Ceferin prepares Celtic and Rangers for Champions League 'evolution' as he blasts Super League 'sharks'

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says clubs like Celtic and Rangers don't ever need to worry about a breakaway from the Champions League.

The talk of a European Super League have hovered over the continent's game ever since a move by 12 rebel clubs in 2021. Only Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid remain but new invites for ESL 2.0 were reportedly sent out last month with talk on a new system outside UEFA's three competitions refusing to die.

But Ceferin is having none of it and expects it all just to be noise, as he tells the other three to go their own way with the Super League. When asked if the Super League could go forward without English clubs, he told The Overlap: "No way. Without the English clubs, the Champions League is not the same. No Super League would exist and you have to know that German clubs are in the exactly same position as English clubs. If Bayern or Borussia Dortmund joined you would see people on the streets just as you saw in England. In Spain, out of 20 clubs in La Liga, 18 against.

"Whenever they moan I always say, play your Super League. You are three, you can play your Super League, nobody cares and football doesn't want them, it is so clear to me that I would say sorry and try to go on."

Both Celtic and Rangers competed in the Champions League group stages this season but changes are coming to the competition. From 2024 onwards. the number of teams competing in the competition will increase from 32 to 36.

It means there will be 189 matches instead of 125 as the group stage is replaced by 'the Swiss model.' But Ceferin says the change didn't necessarily had to happen, and focus must be on keeping those who want to bring harm away.

He added: "We need to keep football from these sharks who are swimming around and trying to ruin the pyramid. It's important to invest in infrastructure around Europe.

"I am sure I will not support any more changes of competitions. We should play Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League like we will from 2024. I don't think it was even necessary to change it but it will be better, an evolution rather than revolution."

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