The Dutch coach Louis van Gaal has criticized the UEFA Champions League system, arguing that the expansion of the tournament and the increase in the number of teams and matches came at the expense of competition quality and player health.
In comments to the Dutch Broadcasting Corporation (NOS) on Thursday, Van Gaal accused UEFA of focusing on financial returns, saying: "UEFA only thinks about making money; it is a corrupt world."
He stressed that the tournament should be limited to top-level clubs, adding: "If they call it the Champions League, only the best teams should compete in it. In this way, the gap in abilities between teams will decrease."
He called for European competitions to be organized according to club levels, citing the ice hockey league system, and argued that the existence of the Europa League and the Conference League does not address the fundamental problem in the structure of continental competitions.
He warned that increasing the number of matches raises the physical pressure on players and the risk of injuries, emphasizing that reducing them would improve the level of competitions. He noted that he presented his ideas to UEFA about 20 years ago without response.
Van Gaal led Dutch club Ajax to the Champions League title in 1995, and has also managed Manchester United and the Dutch national team.
Since the 2024-2025 season, UEFA has replaced the group stage with a unified league phase, increasing the number of clubs from 32 to 36, with each team playing 8 matches against different opponents instead of 6.
The top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16, while teams ranked from ninth to 24th play playoffs to determine the remaining qualifiers.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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