The UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has responded to criticism some of the top football managers following busy calender.
“It’s easy always to attack FIFA and UEFA, but the thing is simple. If you play less, you get less money.” Caferin said.
“Who should complain are the factory workers who get €1,000 per month. Everyone wants more cup games, but nobody gives up on anything.
“Clubs wanted 10 games in the Champions League group stage. They’ll have eight, it’s the right number.
“Domestic leagues should have 18 clubs, but the presidents do not agree. They should understand that two domestic cups are too many.” he added.
The infernal games schedule that the footballers had to finish towards the end of the last season has come under criticism from a number of managers, including Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and French Football Federation president Noel le Grat.
“The reason I am not in such a good mood when I speak about UEFA is because of the Nations League,” Klopp said.
“I still think it is one of the most ridiculous ideas in the world of football because now we finish a season where [some] players have played more than 70 games.
“Easily, club games 63 or 64, plus internationals, and then go direct to 75, which is pretty mad and we continue with Nations League games because we have to play them [when] there is no tournament, who cares we play four, five or six games with the national teams.” Klopp added.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Ceferin also spoke about the 2024 Champions League format change, confirming UEFA’s choice to reverse the group stage and expressing the current league as being ‘too predictable’.
“Today, you can already predict who will play in the Round of 16 after the draw.” Caferin said.
“In the future, big clubs will meet more frequently, smaller clubs will have more chances to qualify and the group will be fought until the end. It will be spectacular.” the Slovenian added.
