UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has vowed there will be NO breakaway European Super League on his watch.
Slovenian lawyer Ceferin, 51, even called the idea of a new competition ‘out of the question’ — and branded the controversial proposal ‘fiction’.
It was revealed earlier this month that 16 top clubs, including English football’s ‘Big Five’, were in talks about a possible breakaway from 2021.
Arsenal’s head of football Raul Sanllehi confirmed the Gunners had been involved in discussions.
But Ceferin told BBC Sport: “The Super League will not happen. It is out of the question. It is in a way a fiction now, or a dream.
“For us, participation stays. Everybody will have an opportunity to compete in every European competition.
“European football can go further only if we stay together, unified.
“If you want to develop football, then you have to stay together.
“Europe has problems with unity these days.
“And football, as one of the biggest powers, should lead this unity.”
Ceferin, who will meet EU chiefs in Brussels today, added: “We are trying to find a solution.
“Unfortunately in the world, many times the rich become richer.
“We are one of the rare organisations that tackles this problem.
“We know we have to slow the gap between rich clubs and the rest, probably it will be hard to stop completely.”