Gundogan believes new Champions League format is bad for players


FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup Semi Final - Chelsea v Manchester City - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - April 17, 2021 Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan Pool via REUTERS/Ian Walton

(Reuters) - Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan says the new format for the UEFA Champions League is flawed and will add to player fatigue, calling it the lesser of two evils in comparison to the controversial European Super League.

UEFA announced this week that they would expand the Champions League to 36 clubs from the 2024-25 season, with teams set to play four more matches compared to the current format.

But Germany international Gundogan believes there is nothing wrong with the competition as it stands.

"With all the Super League stuff going on, can we please also speak about the new Champions League format? More and more games, is no one thinking about us players? The new UCL format is just the lesser of the two evils in comparison to the Super League," he said on Thursday via Twitter.

"The UCL format right now works great and that is why it's the most popular club competition in the world for us players and for the fans."

Plans for a breakaway European Super League to replace the Champions League collapsed this week when nine of the 12 founding member clubs, including six from England, pulled out under massive pressure from fans, politicians, soccer officials and even the British royals.

(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)

Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

RM 11.12/month

Billed as RM 11.12 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 9.87/month

Billed as RM 118.40 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Football

Soccer-Brentford sign Sangare from Lens for club-record fee
AFF Cup: Harimau Malaya suffer first defeat to Thailand 2-0
Soccer-Consortium led by Staveley to buy Gold family's stakes in West Ham
Soccer-Bournemouth sign Portugal centre-back Silva from Benfica
Factbox-Soccer-Timeline of FIFA's stake sale plan: from proposal to dismissal under opposition
Soccer-UEFA welcomes FIFA's decision to scrap stake sale
Soccer-Infantino's FIFA future in jeopardy after private equity gamble backfires
Soccer-Reaction to FIFA backing down on World Cup sell-off plans
Soccer-Infantino faces crisis as UEFA, CONCACAF declare lost confidence over scrapped World Cup deal
Soccer-CONMEBOL seeks more information, launches consultations on FIFA World Cup stake sale proposal

Others Also Read