CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:UEFA WILL try to persuade English clubs to accept a smaller chunk of future Champions League revenues after latest figures revealed another bumper European pay-day for the four Premier League sides last season.

Figures made available by Uefa yesterday showed Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal earned a combined €129 million from Champions League television and sponsorship cash - a figure that does not include gate receipts or match day revenue.

European champions Manchester United, unsurprisingly, were by far the biggest earners in Europe with €42.9 million, while beaten finalists Chelsea were next with €36.3 million, Liverpool took €26.7 million and Arsenal €23.1 million.

Those four were also the biggest earners from the Premier League and Uefa are conscious that Europe's top club competition has created a wealth gap in domestic football.

The current system is in place until 2012, but Uefa will seek to win backing for changes via the European Strategy Council, the consultative body representing clubs, leagues, players and associations.

William Gaillard, Uefa communications director and special adviser to the organisation's president Michel Platini, said yesterday: "We are well aware there are some imbalances in the revenue distribution which have a negative effect in national leagues by widening the gap between the rich and not so rich.

"We will talk to the clubs and see how they feel, and try to convince them that in the longer run it is not in their interest if, because of the way money is distributed, national leagues become too unbalanced.

"This is something we have to bring to the strategy council and find a consensus, but we will have a very wide consultation policy."

Gaillard said Platini's approach would be to win a broad agreement rather than impose the new system on the clubs.

He added: "We have a situation that is fixed until 2012 so that gives us plenty of time to review it."

The four English clubs earned a total of €129 million and Celtic and Rangers picked up a further €22.7 million, meaning that 26 per cent of the €584 million total Champions League television and sponsorship revenues ended up in British hands.

The financial success is due to all four English clubs making the quarter-finals at least, and reflects the fact that the ITV/Sky Champions League deal is the biggest of any country in Europe.

Simon Chadwick, professor of sports business strategy at Coventry University, said the Premier League clubs were benefiting from a "virtuous circle".

"The more money you earn, the better the players you can sign, and the more success you have, and then you earn even more," said Chadwick.

"But increasingly the big thing in the Premier League and in Europe is this issue of competitive balance.

"You don't want over-domination because that adversely affects the product."

Chadwick said, however, that Uefa would be loath to upset the Premier League clubs because they added so much glamour to the European competition.

Chadwick added: "There is a global turf war for television sports fans going on - for example the NBA in China have been much more proactive than football, and the Champions League need the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea - and the clubs need the Champions League too for their own profiles."

Uefa's figures showed Celtic benefited from their second qualification for the knock-out phase to the tune of €13 million, while Rangers earned €9.7 million, though they also brought in €5.2 million from their run to the Uefa Cup final.

Outside of Britain, the biggest earners were Roma, the Italian club who made it furthest in the competition, with €28.9 million while Barcelona, the only non-English club in the semi-finals, were slightly behind on €27.4 million.