Dalian Wanda prepares rival Champions League competition
Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's group in talks with football power brokers
- Europe's most prestigious club competition latest target in sights of Chinese investors
- President Xi Jinping has vowed to transform china into a footballing powerhouse
Updated : 12:58
The Uefa Champions League could be threatened by a rival club competition, as Chinese property and entertainment group Dalian Wanda have said that they are in talks to set up a tournament of their own.
The group's owner Wang Jianlin, reportedly China's richest man, has promised places for the sport's big-hitters and a vast increase in broadcasting revenues.
The move is part of a broader national objective in the powerful Asian country to become a footballing stronghold in the coming decades.
Chinese investors have been acquiring stakes in many major European football clubs, including Inter and AC Milan. Wanda has recently taken over 20% of Spanish club Atletico Madrid. President Xi Jinping has stated his desire to turn the country into a team capable of winning the World Cup.
“Many talented players are deciding to play in Asia instead of coming to Europe,” said Marco Bogarelli, director of Wanda Sports Holding. “One day Asia will have the money for Cristiano Ronaldo to play there … It is in the common interest for these five leagues to have football growing in Europe to maintain its leadership.”
Bogarelli confirmed that discussions had been made with representatives from La Liga and Serie A, and more will follow after the completion of international competition Euro 2016 in France, which concludes on Sunday.
“There has to be a future that has more freedom, based on the needs of the clubs and the leagues where they can make a choice,” said Mr Bogarelli.
Some have been calling for changes to the format of the supreme European competition, alongside its less lucrative sister tournament the Europa League.
The proposal from Wanda is said to be to combine the two major club competitions together, with more places for the top leagues creating more high-profile games. An attractive prospect for broadcasters.
In the UK, BT has paid £897m for a three-year deal to broadcast the Champions and Europa League competitions. Mediaset has reportedly paid €700m for the rights to screen the tournaments in Italy for the three years to 2018.
The move from Wanda comes at a time when Uefa is in somewhat of a crisis, after its president Michel Platini stepped down following a ban in May, and when some of the continent's biggest clubs are placing pressure on the body to alter the format to allow for more revenue from television rights and match-day income.