Rangers and Celtic have been placed on high alert as UEFA's plans for a revamped 36-team Champions League is to be discussed this week.

The new format, which is set to start in 2024 and run until at least 2033, moved a step closer on Friday following meetings between the European Club Association board and UEFA’s club competitions committee.

The ‘Swiss model’ will see teams compete in one 36-team league – instead of the current system where 32 sides are split into eight pools of four – and guarantee each club 10 matches on a seeded basis.

The new format, which guarantees clubs four more games than in the current group phase, takes the Champions League from 125 to 225 matches and is likely to create a huge headache for domestic schedulers.

The new format would see the league’s top eight qualify automatically for the last-16 knockout stage, with the teams finishing ninth and 24th playing off for the remaining eight places.

Extra games would see the Champions League encroach into January – a month usually kept free for domestic club football – while the allocation of two of the extra four places to sides based on previous European performance has also proved controversial.

A team could still qualify for the Champions League based on ‘historic co-efficient’ as long as they did enough domestically to finish in a Europa League or Europa Conference League position.

It comes amid talks of a European Super League with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City all reportedly signing up to break away from the traditional set-up.