Uefa boss sends thinly-veiled threat that stars will see their salaries SLASHED amid row over playing too many games

UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin claims that reducing the number of matches played by top stars will cut the wages of the entire game.

Ceferin remains sceptical about Fifa’s new 32-team Club World Cup, which will include Chelsea and Manchester City when it launches in the USA in June.

Aleksander Ceferin has warned reducing the number of matches could cost playersPA

Major European leagues are backing the international players’ union Fifpro in their European Court case against Fifa, seeking to block the new competition and bring in a fixed maximum of matches played by stars each season.

But while Ceferin hinted at his unhappiness over Fifa’s latest expansion project – despite being part of the world body’s ruling Council which backed the plan – he warned that the knock-on effects of a court victory for the union might end up hitting their own members in the pocket.

Ceferin said: “When we say that footballers are modern gladiators, we are exaggerating a bit.

“The better the footballer, the bigger the star, the more protected he is by the referees, who are also constantly in the fans’ teeth.

“It is true that the players play a lot and that the match calendar could not be more full.

“But I would not agree that only those at the highest level are the most burdened.

“The players from my country, Slovenia, play as often as, for example, those from Real Madrid. Except that they are paid 500 times less.

“If we were to reduce the number of matches, we would end up with the result that the salaries of football players would also fall, because the clubs would have less income.

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“It’s a vicious cycle. The compromise is that no new competitions are introduced.”

Fifa are, of course, introducing one, with the draw for the clubs – which also include Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, Jude Bellingham’s Real, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and major sides from Brazil and Argentina – scheduled for the start of next month.

Ceferin added: “The rhythm of matches for football players is already at the upper limit.

“The problem is that the new Club World Cup will take five weeks after the end of the season every four years.

“Meanwhile, we already have the World Cup, the European Championship.

“I saw that the union of professional footballers with the European leagues has already filed a lawsuit against FIFA.

“The problem is that European clubs want the competition, as it would increase revenue and make it easier to pay footballers.

“So, as I said, it’s a vicious cycle. It will be necessary to sit down with the professional footballers’ union and find out what they want.

“If we reduce the number of matches, wages will have to be reduced as well. There is no other way.”