"Let's stop the hypocrisy, a closed league is the elephant in the room" (J-H Eyraud, Marseille)

"Let's stop the hypocrisy. In the European bodies, a closed league is the elephant in the room. Everyone thinks about it, and nobody talks about it (in public)... The reality is that it is already being talked about. 80% of the clubs in the knockout rounds of the Champions League have been the same for twenty years, and the recent reform that limited access to the competition has embedded the status quo a bit more," said Jacques-Henri Eyraud, president of Olympique de Marseille (Ligue 1 Conforama), in the French daily Le Monde on 05/11/2018.

"To avoid the closed league, French professional football must imperatively accelerate its change, support its best representatives more so that they are more competitive on the European front, sustain an economic model favorable to all actors, keep new technology in its eyes and cultivate its exceptional ability to train and develop young players of great talent," said the man who has headed the Marseille club since October 2016.

"When you see that the top 10 in Europe consists of a group of clubs with an annual budget of more than €400m…