Matt Maher: Forget great football games – cash is king for Euro elite

Tuesday night’s last-16 tie between Juventus and Porto was a candidate for the most thrilling match of the season so far, anywhere on the continent. The other tie taking place at the same time wasn’t bad either; Sevilla falling just short in a bid to take Borussia Dortmund to extra-time, the German club just about avoiding an embarrassing late collapse.

So frequent is the excitement produced by two-legged knockout ties it always begs the question why the first stage of the tournament is taken up by a mostly tedious group stage?

The answer, as always, is money and events off the pitch this week have confirmed the competition’s direction of travel is toward more meaningless games. Uefa’s plan for the expansion of the Champions League in 2024 would see the number of group stage matches increase from six to 10.

But the proposals, backed by the European Clubs Association, the group which represents the continent’s wealthiest clubs, carry far more risk than merely reducing entertainment levels.

They are the latest attempt to widen the gap between the game’s haves and have-nots, with the possibility some clubs might be able to qualify for the Champions League based on “historic” performance. A safety net, in other words, in case of a bad domestic campaign.

If that doesn’t sound quite protectionist enough, Juventus chairman and ECA spokesman Andreas Agnelli has even floated the possibility of a ban on clubs in the Champions League buying players from one other.

The threat to those clubs with aspirations of breaking into the elite, Villa and Wolves among them, could not be more obvious. Under the proposed co-efficient rules, Arsenal and Tottenham would have qualified for this season’s competition despite not even finishing in the Premier League’s top five last term.

But the wider ramifications are even worse. Putting an extra 100 Champions League fixtures into an already busy schedule increases the squeeze on domestic leagues. Calls for a reduction in the Premier League to 18 teams will grow. The League Cup will almost certainly be sacrificed.

With that comes a shift in revenue streams which, for those big clubs on the continent who look on enviously at the Premier League model, has always been the aim.

Football appears to be emerging from the pandemic with levels of greed and self-interest still well intact.