Chelsea hero Frank Leboeuf won't hear criticism of the Europa League.

The Frenchman, who won the Europa League in its old European Cup Winners' Cup guise in 1998 — the same year he won the League Cup, the Super Cup and, of course, the World Cup — is adamant he'd rather be in it to win it every year than making up the numbers in the continent's bigger competition.

Leboeuf said: “Sometimes I wonder whether it's better for the club to be in the Champions League when you know you won't win it or in the Europa League and having a chance to win it.

“As a player, I'd rather be in the Europa League because, at the end of my career, I would have lined my resume.

“If I'd got to the quarter-finals of the Champions League or the semi-final, it won't mean anything at the end of the day.

“Yes, you've played in the Champions League, well done, but what did you win?

“Nothing? Unlucky."