Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has sneered at concerns that the Champions League is about to become an elite invitation event with the final elements of cup football squeezed out in favour of pouring more money to the richer clubs.
Under changes coming in from the 2018/19 season the top four nations in the UEFA co-efficient table will each get four automatic places in the group phase.
The rest of Europe will scramble over the remaining 16 places, or 15 if the Europa League winners haven’t already qualified, with the Scottish champions facing four qualifying rounds to reach the group phase.
Four rather than five places will be available from the Champions route with the reward for qualification being six matches against even richer opponents than usual.
Responding to claims that clubs from lesser nations may now be seen as a burden Rumenigge told Kicker magazine: “Participants from smaller leagues, for instance from Scandinavia or eastern Europe, fundamentally always have difficulties to keep up with those from the big five leagues: Germany, England, Spain, Italy, France. Still, that doesn’t make them a burden.”
Justifying the changes which will see clubs from the four top nations assured of at least £50m for taking part the Bayern Munich director claimed: “For a couple of years now, qualification for the knockout stages has been decided after four or a maximum five match-days,.
“There might be a fight for the first spot. That’s it. With the reform, more quality and more emotions will enter the competition.”
Those emotions may well be even more emphatic wins with more money and places going to the top four nations.
In this season’s tournament 14 of the 96 group stage matches resulted in wins by four goals or more with the last 16 consisting entirely of teams from Spain, Germany, England, France, Italy and Portugal.
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