Uefa is convinced the G14 group is planning a breakaway competition to rival the Champions League.

The G14 group represents 18 of the world’s most powerful clubs. It recently expressed its dissatisfaction with recent changes to the format of the Champions League and would like to see an overhaul of the competition. However, Uefa officials believe their complaints are merely a smokescreen to obscure their true intention which is to set up a breakaway league.

Uefa chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson said: “They are creating a smokescreen to hide their ambitions for an alternative competition.”

And he warned the G14’s £740m claim for compensation in the Charleroi case over players injured on international duty needed to be taken “very seriously”.

G14 are backing a claim by Belgian club Charleroi for compensation over a player injured in an international match.

Moroccan Abdelmajid Oulmers was out for eight months after playing against Burkina Faso in November 2004.

G14 wants clubs to be compensated if players are injured playing for their countries.

Olsson added: “I tend to judge people on what they do and not so much on what they say.

“So if you have a claim from the G14 clubs, written down on paper, in a court case in Charleroi, demanding £600m for compensation for players released for international duty then I take that very seriously.

“Now we hear they are asking for another £140m from Fifa for payment for players in the World Cup.

“G14 have tried to distance themselves from that figure but they have not withdrawn that claim from the court.

“This is a challenge that everyone in football should take seriously.”

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