Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has conceded that the Premier League's threat in Europe has lessened due to the lack of English contingent in the Champions League.

Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea were all dumped out of the elite European tournament before the quarter-final stage.

While Neville believes that England's top flight are not 'on top' at the moment, things could change next season.

"We are not in a strong moment," BBC Sport quotes Neville as saying. "There is no point denying it. But Barcelona and Real Madrid are stronger, the German teams are stronger, Juventus look like they are getting back to it.

"It works in cycles. You cannot always be at the top. Maybe we are having a period where we are in a little bit of a dip. But it may change around completely next year or the year after."

Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Malaga, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain make up the final eight of the competition.