No step back. The reform of the Champions League is still there and the Uefa will not revise what was approved earlier. La Gazzetta dello Sport explains: “In Spain they are trying to boycott the new Champions League that will start 2018-2019 where the first four teams from the four biggest leagues (Italy included) are directly qualified for the group stage. But despite what other “news” state, Nyon will communicate the new format on Friday.”
This is great news for Italy who, starting with the 2017-2018 season will get four spots directly into the group stage without any playoffs. However this depends on the current ranking of the leagues which at the moment has Italy as number 4 but could easily change since it isn’t going very well for Italy in this years European leagues. If Russia or France would move Italy to the 5th spot in the rankings, Serie A would lose two spots.
Source: gazzetta.it
