European clubs are "anticipating another windfall after changes to the Champions League and say the new system will be fairer as well as making them richer," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. The European Clubs Association said that it "expected revenue from the Champions League and Europa League to jump" from €2.35B ($2.62B) per season to around €3B ($3.4B) from '18-19, when the changes, announced by UEFA last month, come into force. ECA Chair Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also "ruled out talk of a breakaway Super League in the foreseeable future, saying the clubs wanted to remain united." UEFA has "rearranged the slots in the lucrative Champions League group stage in favor of its four top-ranked leagues, guaranteeing them four places each." The changes left UEFA "open to criticism that they had acted in favor of the biggest clubs, thus only increasing the gap between the most powerful and the rest." But Rummenigge said on Tuesday that the changes, which will apply to European competitions from '18 to '21, represented "a good compromise." He said, "I believe there are no winners and no losers. The new concept is not a revolution, it's just an evolution, and I'm convinced that everyone will benefit" (REUTERS, 9/6).
