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Secret meetings have been held already in recent years between leading executives, although it is the clubs in Spain and Italy who are most pushing for change amid the vast commercial success of the Premier League.

The current £3 billion Premier League overseas television deal from 2016 until 2019 generates £39 million annually for each club and, for the previous 25 years, there has been an equal sharing of international broadcasting income.

“The money is never a problem, it’s the way you use it that is the problem,” said Wenger. “It has reduced the uncertainty of the game. In Europe overall you have big, big financial powers and in December you can say who will win the league. That is not good.”

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Of the likelihood of a European league, Wenger said: “It will happen and it will be soon because it is a way for other clubs to fight against the Premier League. Why weekends? To sell it well. The Champions League doesn’t sell well anymore. Look at the audiences but, if you have Real v Barca, or Real v Arsenal, or Manchester United v Bayern Munich every week the audiences will be good.

Wenger wants his successor to uphold the values of the club credit: AFP

“It is inevitable. To share money between the big clubs and small clubs (in the Premier League) will become a problem. The big clubs will say, 'if two smaller clubs are playing each other nobody wants to watch it. So we have to share the money but nobody is interested in you?’ People want to watch quality. If you want to make it more attractive you have to go down to 16 and make a real competition of it.”