Rich get richer in European football's ‘evolution not revolution’

There is a carve-up taking place at the top of European football and you don’t need to be a conspiracy theorist to see who is behind it.

Changes to the qualifying arrangements for the Champions League and the distribution of the revenue are being presented as a logical step forward. “This is an evolution not a revolution,” says Uefa. In fact it’s more like the announcement of a forthcoming coup d’etat, with the existing regime preparing to cohabit with the plotters.

As presented by Uefa the reforms sound reasonable. From 2018 the top four clubs from the top four leagues will automatically go into the Champions League group stage. The coefficients that determine seeding will be based on club performance and clubs will also be seeded according to their past history in the competition. There will be more money for clubs and leagues, with TV revenues distributed more fairly.