"Salary caps just simply wouldn't work and was never our intention," Lars-Christer Olsson told Reuters on the margins of a meeting between soccer authorities and EU lawmakers.

Speculation that UEFA, European football's governing body, and EU governments were seeking to restrict players' wages had grown since the release of the EU-sponsored European Sports Review in April.

A recommendation in the review, commissioned to look at how sports should be governed throughout the 25-member bloc, was that players' wages should be capped in the top leagues.

According to Olsson, a new draft of the report will be released before the end of the year with a refined recommendation to limit the overall amount a club can spend on salaries.

"This was a misconception. We don't want to say that a player can't be paid X amount of money," Olsson said.

"But what we do say is that there needs to be a limit on a club's wage bill in the context of the overall revenue; cost controls so that they don't go into debt."

UEFA believes making clubs more financially accountable will force them to spend more on development and training rather than just individuals.

The G14, which represents 18 of Europe's richest and most powerful clubs, also advocates this approach.

UEFA hopes to have the European Sports Review adopted by EU governments in December. It covers all aspects of soccer, such as doping, players' agents and commercial rights.