UEFA has hit out at the "greedy plan" to revive the Super League following Tuesday's meeting with the competition's backers A22 Sports, accusing them of jeopardising the future of football.
It was revealed last month that Bernd Reichart was heading up plans for a revival of the Super League, which retains the support of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus following a failed launch in April 2021.
On Tuesday, UEFA announced it had reaffirmed its opposition to the Super League project at a meeting requested by A22, which was attended by several big-name executives including Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn.
However, European football's governing body was infuriated by a subsequent statement from A22, accusing UEFA of seeking to preserve the "status quo" and possessing a monopoly over continental competitions.
UEFA then released a second statement of its own, saying A22 had disrespected football's organisers and possessed no concrete plans for a new Super League format.
"A22 Sports Management has published an account of their visit to UEFA Headquarters in Nyon today. UEFA is currently checking the recording to see if they are talking about the same meeting," the statement began.
"The 'other executives' they refer to were not faceless bureaucrats but senior stakeholders from across European football; players, clubs, leagues and fans, people who live and breathe the game every day. To fail to recognise that is disrespectful.
"If there is a 'takeaway' from today, it should be that the whole of European football opposes their greedy plan, as was clearly communicated in our media release.
"European football has constantly demonstrated its openness to change, but it must be for the benefit of the whole game, not just a few clubs.
"A22 wanted dialogue, so we gave them two-and-a-half hours of time from all of the game's stakeholders, and each one rejected their approach.
"As the Football Supporters' Association said, the UK has had as many Prime Ministers in the last two months as they have supporters of their plans.
"They claim not to represent the three remaining clubs. They refuse to define what their alleged new approach is. They claim to want dialogue. But when presented with the chance, they have nothing to say.
"The time for real dialogue is tomorrow, when the Convention on the Future of European Football reconvenes here in Nyon.
"National associations, clubs, leagues, coaches, players, fans, agents and administrators will gather to discuss the real issues facing the game, not to spend time indulging bankers and marketing executives on ideas that put the future of the world's favourite game in jeopardy."
Leeds United close Elland Road after security threat
Leeds United closed their Elland Road stadium "until further notice" on Friday following a security threat.
A threat was made on Thursday, reportedly on social media, leading to action being taken by the Premier League club.
A statement from Leeds read: "Leeds United's offices, ticket office, Foundation offices and club shop at Elland Road will be closed until further notice on the advice of the police.
"We apologise for any inconvenience and we will inform the public when normal service resumes."
A West Yorkshire Police statement added: "Police were called to attend at Elland Road football stadium following reports of a security threat to the premises.
"Investigations are currently ongoing to establish the credibility of that threat. The report was received at 9.49pm last night."
Napoli chief confident of Spalletti stay as contract talks remain on hold
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is confident coach Luciano Spalletti will remain with the Scudetto hopefuls beyond the expiration of his contract at the end of the season.
Napoli appear destined to win their first Serie A title since the Diego Maradona era this campaign, having built a huge 19-point lead over second-placed Lazio.
Having earned a club-record 71 points from their first 27 games of the Serie A season, Napoli will also face Milan in the club's first Champions League quarter-final appearance next month.
Napoli reportedly hold an option to trigger a 12-month extension to Spalletti's contract, with the 64-year-old having previously ruled out talks over fresh terms before the title is secured.
De Laurentiis is not worried about the prospect of Spalletti walking away, praising the coach's seismic impact upon the club as he recalled his 2021 appointment on Friday.
Speaking at an event in Naples, De Laurentiis recalled: "To throw everyone off the track, I went for [Sergio] Conceicao and [Massimiliano] Allegri, who came to give me football lessons in my office four times.
"In the end, Luciano came to bring us back to the top three in Italy and also last year, something different could have happened.
"If the rules of football were different, perhaps we would have brought the Scudetto to Naples a few other times already. Spalletti will stay in Naples."
Napoli host Milan in their next Serie A fixture on April 2, while the first leg of their Champions League last-eight tie with the Rossoneri will take place 10 days later at San Siro.
Aguero rates chance of Messi return to Barca at '50 per cent'
Lionel Messi has a "50 per cent" chance of returning to Barcelona, according to former team-mate and close friend Sergio Aguero.
Messi left Barca for French side Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 after a long and decorated spell with the Catalan giants, winning 10 LaLiga titles and lifting the Champions League on four occasions.
His time in the French capital has been mixed, however, failing to deliver PSG's long-awaited first Champions League having been knocked out in the last 16 the last two seasons.
Messi scored his 800th career goal with a stunning free-kick as Argentina returned after World Cup glory in Qatar with a 2-0 victory over Panama on Thursday.
With the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's contract at the Parc des Princes set to expire at the end of this campaign, Aguero feels a reunion with the club he first joined when he was 13 could be on the cards.
Aguero called upon Barca president Joan Laporta to bring Messi back to Camp Nou, telling Kings League's Twitch: "Laporta has to make an effort to bring Leo back.
"I think Leo should retire at Barca. Barcelona is his home, he has to finish his career here.
"My feeling is that there is a 50 per cent chance that he will return.
"I think if Laporta does that step [to contact Messi], everything will be much closer to happening."
Messi's Argentina are back in action on Tuesday against Curacao, when the 35-year-old will have the opportunity to score his 100th goal for La Albiceleste having moved on to 99 with his historic strike against Panama.
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