Man Utd boss Ferguson warns new Uefa boss Platini

Ferguson believes the Champions League format must stay the way it is now, and not change it so that each country’s maximum number of places is cut from four to three.

Sir Alex said: “The tournament really starts in February, but I think it is ok the way it is at the moment.

“The appeal of the Champions League is when the giants of Spain or Italy or England come up against each other.”

He added: “The Champions League has been good. If you go back a few years, there were maybe too many games with two qualifying groups because you had to play about 17 games to win it.

“If you take away the fourth place teams, the only way to address that is by reducing the competition or by giving other countries two places.”