UEFA announced about upcoming changes in the Champions League.
The head of European football announced that soon (most likely from the 2018-19 season onwards) there will be several changes in the Champions League. From now on, the four strongest teams from the top four European leagues will automatically receive four direct spots in the group stage.
Until now, clubs in the top leagues, who finished in fourth place, had to go through the final UEFA Champions League qualifying stage. For example, last season "Villarreal," who finished fourth in the "La Liga," had to face "Monaco" in the final qualifying stage and lost both matches, thus competing only in the Europa League.
The big four now include the football leagues of Spain, England, Italy, and Germany. Interestingly, "Serie A," which has been going through tough times, only had two guaranteed spots until now, with the third-placed club also having to go through the final qualifying stage.
This season, the Champions League will have the most representatives from the leagues of Spain, England, and Germany, while Italy will only have two teams, as "Roma" did not manage to pass the qualifying matches. Interestingly, this season "Serie A," which made it to the big UEFA quartet, will have fewer representatives than Portugal or France.
