Uefa president Lennart Johansson has told Europe’s biggest clubs that their greed is threatening the future of the game.

G14 members want Fifa and Uefa to pay the wages of players in World Cups and European Championships.

Belgian club Charleroi are have taken Fifa to court, claiming that releasing players to national associations without payment is illegal.

But Uefa’s Lennart Johansson said: “Too many people involved in football, clubs and individuals, are too greedy.”

Speaking in Malta ahead of Uefa’s executive committee meeting, Johansson said both “clubs and individuals” were to blame for the “greed” within football.

“It’s a big problem that too many people see football as a business,” he added.

“Football is a sport and a social question and we have to be very careful to take care of it for the younger generation.

“Some of the big clubs try by going to court to make it ‘winner takes all’.

“That means that the money for the associations and the grass-roots would go back into the pockets of the richest clubs.

“The Champions League gives the clubs the opportunity to make much more money than they did on an individual basis but still gives us the opportunity to take 30-40% to give back to the member associations.”

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