Aleksander Ceferin: Only European Clubs Can Compete In Champions League, Europa League, & Conference League
An international Champions League final disqualified
Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA, has spoken on football today, particularly the new Saudi Arabian league and the next Champions League season.
The Chinese league, which drew numerous stars a few years ago, was compared by Ceferin to the Saudi Arabian company.
Ceferin told L’Equipe, “It’s not a threat, we saw a similar approach in China, which bought players at the end of their careers by offering them a lot of money.” “Chinese football didn’t develop and didn’t qualify for the World Cup afterwards.” “That’s not the right way to do it. They should work on player and coach development, but that’s not my problem.”
In addition, the UEFA president emphasized that the top players in their prime did not travel to Saudi Arabia.
He added, “There are players at the end of their careers and others who aren’t ambitious enough to aspire to the ‘top’ competitions.” “As far as I know, [Kylian] Mbappe and [Erling] Haaland don’t dream of Saudi Arabia.” “I don’t believe that the best players at the pinnacle of their careers would go to Saudi Arabia.” “When people talk to me about the players who went there, nobody knows where they’re playing.”
Ceferin continued by saying that Saudi Arabia is yet to be a rival in UEFA competitions.
He noted, “This mainly interests the media, but not so much the European football community.” “We’ll see, but I don’t even think for a second that this could threaten our competition.”
The Champions League does not include any Saudi Arabian clubs
The possibility of Saudi Arabian teams competing in future editions of the Champions League has been suggested in recent weeks, but Ceferin has refuted this theory.
Ceferin declared, “A media outlet talked about this without even asking us.” “Only European clubs can participate in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.”
When asked whether a future Champions League final may take place in the United States, Ceferin responded similarly.
He continued, “Only European federations can apply [to host] a final, not even clubs.” “We would have to change all our rules, and we don’t want that.”
