Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis discussed the Stadio San Paolo, scrapping the Champions League and reducing Serie A to 16 teams.

The patron spoke at a meeting of young entrepreneurs and did not hold back on radical ideas for changing football.

“I would like to scrap the Champions League and create a European League with the 20 teams who have done best, played home and away, every Wednesday and Thursday.

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis discussed the Stadio San Paolo, scrapping the Champions League and reducing Serie A to 16 teams.

The patron spoke at a meeting of young entrepreneurs and did not hold back on radical ideas for changing football.

“I would like to scrap the Champions League and create a European League with the 20 teams who have done best, played home and away, every Wednesday and Thursday.

“On Saturday and Sunday, we’d play the regular domestic fixtures. I have always been in favour of a European club league in parallel with the domestic competitions, played between the sides that finished highest in their respective leagues the year before.

“We must therefore sit around a table and set the pathway to reach this type of European league.

“However, Serie A cannot have 20 teams, as that is too many. I can tell you that I have only one disagreement with (Lazio President Claudio) Lotito and that is we both want to reduce the number of sides in Serie A, but he wants small steps to 18 and I instead say we had 16 teams in 1986 and that’s what we should return to.”

De Laurentiis has been in a war of words with the Mayor of Naples over restructuring work for the Stadio San Paolo.

“I can’t seem like a peasant in Europe. When Manchester City or Real Madrid come here, I can give them a dream dinner, but the smoke in their eyes can only do so much. Seeing as the money is there from the Regione, I went to ask what we could do to stop looking embarrassing in Europe.

“I am waiting for 100 hectares to build Casa Napoli. I’ll also try to build a jewel of a stadium, holding 30,000 with comfortable seats, as I come from the world of cinema and believe you must be comfortable.

“We’d also have 150m high screens to show the VAR replays, so that’ll be fun… And, I’d include a pitch that can be moved outside so as to bring out a platform for concerts.”

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