UEFA is considering massive revamp to Champions League

A massive revamp to the format of the Champions League is currently being considered, according to this report from The Guardian. As expected, the move is "being driven by continental clubs' concern that they are being left behind by huge revenues generated by the Premier League".

The new plan would see an additional knockout round before the revamped group stage. The top 16 teams would enter the competition at this time and be seeded, so they would not be drawn against each other. With the competition whittled down to 16 teams, they would then enter a group stage with two groups of eight. After the fourteen match group stage, the two group winner would then meet in the UEFA Champions League Final.

As the Guardian points out in their article, UEFA will announce any changes to the Champions League in the next year before the next television rights are negotiated. No change would occur until the 2018-19 season.

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge voiced thoughts earlier this year of a European Super League, and this revamped Champions League may just be a way to appease the big European superpowers ahead of a breakaway.