Alan Brazil: Champions League closed shop would be a disaster

But when the big boys start strangling the wee men in the name of greed, it’s time to draw the line.

Make no mistake – that is the prospect we face if Europe’s top clubs, including the Premier League’s big five, turn the Champions League into a closed shop.

For the likes of Celtic – and, by extension, every club in Scotland – that would be a disaster.

I cannot think of a single legitimate reason why Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool would want to pull up the drawbridge behind them.

Doing so wouldn’t be an act of self-preservation – it would be psychotic.

That’s why I believe this whole thing has been driven by the foreign crowd rather than by England’s big guns.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and their ilk see the TV money their Premier League equivalents are raking in and they want in on the action.

That is the backdrop to this whole story – and the spark that could burn top-level club football to the ground.

“Forget competition,” they would effectively be saying, if they got their way. “It’s all about cash”.

And if that’s what football at the very top level has come to, then I’m sorry, but you can count me out.

Where’s the soul? Where’s the wonder? Where’s the jeopardy and the joy?

If more money in the bank is the only prize, and slightly less money in the bank is the only pitfall, then the only people getting excited will be bankers.

What about the fans? What’s in it for them?

Sky-high ticket prices, stadiums flooded with tourists, and an on-pitch product sanitised to within an inch of its life – that’s what.

Don’t get me wrong, I accept the very best teams need to face off against each other.

It’s as important for the game itself as it is for the clubs’ bank balances.

But the Champions League facilitates that the way it is – it doesn’t need to be made any more exclusive.

Some people feel there are problems with the format, particularly in the group stages.

But is the answer to those problems kicking everyone out bar the biggest 20 clubs in the world? Not a chance.

I’d bet the only people who would tell you otherwise are those that stand to profit from it.

When decisions are driven only by money, ideas like “right” and “wrong” tend to get lost in the clamour.

To UEFA’s credit, they seem to have recognised that.

The governing body has vowed to fight any attempts by its top clubs to either form a breakaway league, or to radically revamp the Champions League.

Of course, they would have to say that, because the competition is their biggest cash cow.

But in this case, they also have what’s best for football at heart – so we should all get behind them.

Football doesn’t belong to its richest clubs. It belongs to us all.

The game’s giants would do well to remember that – or risk finding themselves with nothing left that anyone wants to buy.

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