Benitez was reacting to plans presented by UEFA president Michel Platini to allow cup winners into Europe's elite competition at the expense of the fourth-placed team in the major European leagues.

The Premier League are unhappy with the proposal, although it has been met with guarded approval by Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick.

Many of football's top brass believe that as the FA Cup is usually won by a team from the top four, a trend now stretching back two decades - the impact of any rule change will be minimal.

He said: "I do not think the idea is too bad, the new suggestion from UEFA over the FA Cup winners.

"If you win a trophy like the FA Cup you maybe deserve more, and it would be good to play in the Champions League.

"But the problem is that the fourth of the English, Spanish, German or Italian league then cannot play in the Champions League and clubs from other countries will be able to.

"It is something that needs to be discussed and analysed. It is not good enough to have a lot of different teams and a lot of different games, we want to see the best players in the Champions League, the best in Europe."