Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award on Thursday after winning both last season’s Champions League and Euro 2016 with Portugal.
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As it stands, the clubs that finish fourth in the top three leagues have to compete in a two-legged playoff tie in order to progress into the group stage.
However, Uefa rules state that clubs can not influence the team selections of others, even when a player has joined a rival on loan. This is due to a relatively new rule that was introduced by Uefa a year ago.
Caltex Socceroo Tom Rogic will get the chance to play against world superstars Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar as well as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City following the draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
As things stand the Super Lig champion would still be guaranteed an automatic group stage place for the Super Lig and the runner up will still be eligible for a play-off spot.
Other changes announced on Friday are also likely to benefit the big four leagues. Currently, the Europa victor can be made to qualify through the playoffs.
UEFA has helped storied clubs who have slumped in recent seasons and would slip in the rankings which determine draw seeding. Under the newly-designed structure, clubs will be judged on their own records, with historical success in the competition being acknowledged in coefficient calculation.
Meanwhile, 2015 finalists Juventus will face Europa League winners Sevilla, Lyon and Dynamo Zagreb.
Now in his first season as City manager, Guardiola will face off against his former club in Group C, along with Borussia Monchengladbach and Celtic, when the group stage begins next month.
Currently, 22 of the 32 slots are guaranteed to teams from 12 different leagues, including titleholders from Belgium, Switzerland, and Turkey.
Guardiola, who replaced Manuel Pellegrini at the end of last season, is Barcelona’s most successful boss, leading the Spanish club to 14 major trophies between 2008 and 2012.
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Today’s ceremony was hosted by Darren Tulett but former footballers Andrés Palop and Patrik Andersson also attended the event with UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti to help with the draw.
