Super-agent Mino Raiola blasts Uefa amid call for breakaway organisation

Mino Raiola, the agent of Manchester United duo Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has accused Uefa of driving competition out of football. The outspoken Dutchman, who is one of world football's most influential figures, has called on European football's major clubs to break away from their governing body.

Raiola has argued that Uefa are a "monopolist" institution that hold back the sport in Europe. "In football the result should always be a surprise, otherwise Leicester never would have won the [Premier] League," Raiola said during an interview with Radio CRC.

"The Champions League, though, is killing the leagues and the federations are allowing Uefa to do it: the FIGC [Italian Football Federation] has let it become the biggest competitor to Serie A."

Raiola, who secured Pogba's world-record return to United over the summer, also warned that the Champions League is too predictable. "Everyone talks about the Champions League, but it's not a great platform because the same four or five always win," he said.

"We know that in all probability Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City will get to the end, and there might be some outsiders like Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain.

"The Champions League is a bit bigger than a normal league, but the boredom of knowing more or less who will win is real. It's strange that Uefa – an organisation of federations – can become a trading company which organises a tournament and then that tournament is the biggest competitor to the Premier League, the Bundesliga or Serie A.

"Football needs a revolution, and to do that you need to break away from Uefa and create a non-European League that everyone can enter. For many years, clubs have been afraid to leave the system, then this year they threatened to do so but were happy with more money - not realising that they're killing the leagues.

"Let me give you an example: can Bologna aspire to the Champions League? No, and by doing so the gap between those clubs participating in continental competition and those that aren't increases more and more. Uefa is monopolist."

Meanwhile, Raiola also revealed that Ibrahimovic – who joined United on a free transfer over the summer – has previously expressed an interest in ending his career with Italian club Napoli. "At [Ciro] Ferrara's farewell match, Ibrahimovic told me he wanted to end his career at Napoli," Raiola said. "I won't tell you if [President Aurelio] De Laurentiis called me for Ibra. What I can say is that none of the Italian clubs could afford Zlatan. Ibra definitely has a Neapolitan mentality though."