UEFA President and former French International Michel Platini is preparing to hear arguments for plans to create a “European Super League” after refusing to rule out the idea, one that would replace the current Champions League and UEFA Cup tournaments after some of the biggest clubs in the world had discussions to implement the idea recently.

Via TimesOnline 

A meeting of the European Club Association (ECA), which represents 137 leading teams, in Nyon, Switzerland, discussed the possibility of a three-division Super League of around 20 clubs per division, to start some time after the present Uefa television and marketing deals expire in 2012.

“Everybody knows my philosophy about European competitions,” Platini said. “But the world is changing and we must be careful about that. If it was up to me, I would revert to European Cups as they were at the beginning, with just knockout rounds. But we must listen carefully to any suggestion. If (clubs) come and talk to us, we would listen to them and then decide.”

The first club to approach him may be Barcelona, whose president, Joan Laporta, is a close ally of Platini and seen by ECA as an important contact with Uefa. AC Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Porto and Lyons are believed to have been the prime movers behind the plans, with Bayern Munich in the vanguard of the opposition.

A European Super-League has been mooted at least twice before, but the global economic crisis has increased the urgency with which clubs are seeking ways of maximising profits. Some estimate that the new league could increase profits tenfold by comparison with existing revenues from the Champions League.

Existing domestic competitions would continue alongside the European league, but larger leagues such as the Barclays Premier League and La Liga in Spain would have to cut the number of teams in order to create fixture space.