As Sky Sports report: “Under the present system, the top three leagues - currently Spain, Germany and England - have three places each, while their fourth-placed teams must contest a play-off over two legs for a place in the group stage.
“The fourth ranked league, currently Italy, have only two guaranteed places plus one in the play-off round.
“The change was announced after Europe’s top football officials met to discuss changes to the competition in Monaco on Thursday.
“It is understood representatives from UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) discussed a variety of options to ward off the threat of a breakaway Super League.
“Many clubs have expressed concerns - primarily through the ECA - about the qualifying criteria and format of UEFA club competitions.”
Meanwhile…
- Brendan Rodgers believes Celtic Park atmosphere will make it difficult for Champions League rivals [TalkSPORT]
- Nantes president Waldemar Kita has denied any claims of his club’s interest in Mario Balotelli this summer [Inside Futbol]
- Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone has been ruled out for at least three months after tearing elbow ligaments [BT Sport]
- Everton are ready to step up their interest for Napoli forward Manolo Gabbiadini [Sport Witness]
- Lucas Perez is poised to sign a four-year contract with Arsenal [Daily Star]
- Steven Gerrard insists England boss Sam Allardyce is ahead of the times [Daily Mail]
