Celtic and Rangers have been assured that the proposed changes to the Champions League will not exclude them from the top table in Europe.
The Association of European Clubs, led by Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, has been calling for a renewal of the tournament starting in 2024.
That led to fears of a closed ‘Super League’ store, and former Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu revealed that he had signed his club before leaving.
Any such format would likely exclude teams from the least fashionable leagues in Europe, meaning Rangers and Celtic could be denied the opportunity to compete.
But UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin says there will be no closed shop, blaming the Real Madrid president for shaking things up.
Ceferin told 24ur: “This has been Florentino Pérez’s dream for the last 30 years, when he wasn’t even in football.
“The two main candidates for the presidency of Barcelona have publicly spoken out against the Superliga.
“Bayern (Munich), Juventus and English clubs have spoken out against it.
“It is an idea, a wish, of those who do not care about the rest of football. Those who care about today’s football but not tomorrow’s.
In any case, the format will remain the same until 2024. That is when the rights have been sold.
“We are talking about not playing on the weekend because we want to maintain the value of the national leagues. But we are talking about a slightly different, more interesting system that includes absolutely everyone ”.
“The dream of playing the Champions League will be as realistic as it is now.”
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