I never liked the CL format either, actually. Bring back the old European Cup, Cup Winners' Cup, and UEFA Cup as far as I'm concerned (or whatever they were called in English).Isn't that what the Champions League became anyway? This is clearly the clubs telling UEFA that they aren't sharing enough of their revenue.
That initial unhappiness that you mentioned, was that about the CL or its predecessor? If it wasn't the CL, do you have more info or a link? I'm curious what the arguments were.