UEFA may wish to consider changing the official Champions League music to the theme from The Godfather to acknowledge the deepening power struggle between Europe’s richest clubs and their governing body that threatens to spark a war that will slice apart European football.

The darkest fear of leading figures within Uefa is that they will wake up not to a horse’s head but to the news that Europe’s elite clubs have formed a breakaway league. G14, the group of 18 leading clubs, has refused to rule out that prospect. Yesterday, the governing body went on the offensive at its congress in Budapest.

“Uefa will not stand in the way of those who want to leave the family,” a Uefa statement read. This is an offer that the clubs will find easy to refuse. The statement added that quitting will mean that the teams’ involvement in domestic competitions would sleep with the fishes.

“If G14 want to go their private way, then they can do so. But outside of the European and domestic football structures,” Lennart Johansson, the Uefa president, said. G14 wants to give its members a bigger say in how the sport is run and also wants a share of revenues from key tournaments, such as the World Cup.

It is backing Royal Charleroi, who are seeking compensation from Fifa, the sport’s world governing body, via the Belgian courts because one of their players returned from international duty with a serious injury. Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, said that by supporting Charleroi, G14 had launched a “bomb” and “disturbed the family of football”.

Uefa delegates from the national associations unanimously approved a resolution condemning the efforts of G14. Uefa reiterated the principle of allowing players to compete for national teams and giving clubs from smaller countries the chance to qualify for the Champions League.

Yesterday, G14 denied that it intends to split from Uefa. “There are no plans for this in the foreseeable future,” Thomas Kurth, the general manager, said.

However, it released a 30-page statement that read: “The top-level professional clubs should maintain their future options by making preparations for the creation of a ‘European Professional League’ to run top-level European international club competitions.”

It also called for the number of Champions League matches to be increased to guarantee clubs perhaps two or three more fixtures. Blatter, though, is unimpressed. “Once you are in a family, there is a minimum of respect that one should observe,” he said.