Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will tonight bring an end to a Champions League era as UEFA’s divisive “Swiss model” comes into force from next season.
That means the competition proper will expand to 36 clubs with the four-team group stage being scrapped for a longer initial stage that will see teams play more games and their clubs earn more money.
UEFA insist it is designed to ensure fewer dead rubber group stage matches but critics of the changes believe that it will lower the amount of jeopardy even further. The reality is that it will take a couple of seasons before a definitive judgment can be made.
But here is what we know of the new Champions League format with the qualifying rounds only five weeks away.
How will the new competition work?
There will be 36 participating clubs, up from 32, who will play 189 matches instead of the current 125 in an elongated league phase that will replace the group stage.
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Every team will play eight games, four at home and four away against different opponents. The top eight teams in the league will automatically progress to the round of 16 with the sides finishing between ninth and 24th competing in a seeded two-legged play-off. From there the competition will progress as the norm.
Essentially there will be more entree dishes before we get stuck into the meat - with 160 matches required to reach the last 16.
How have the extra four spots been distributed?
Two of the four spots have gone to the leagues with the highest total co-efficient from the preceding season - but the Premier League squandered a chance to earn a fifth place because of their clubs’ performance this season.
One of the remaining spots has gone to the team that finishes third in the league with the fifth highest coefficient - in this case France’s Brest, while the Ligue 1 fourth-placed side Lille will now have a qualifying spot.
And the fourth place is reserved for an extra team from the “champions path” side of the qualifiers.
Jude Bellingham is expected to win the Champions League in his first season as a Real Madrid player.Why are these changes happening?
Money, unsurprisingly. Players and head coaches will roll their eyes at the prospect of additional fixtures but having more games means additional revenue. Broadcasters will need to pay more to show extra games. Clubs will bank more in gate receipts. Sponsors will cough up extra for increased opportunities to show their logos to an audience of millions.
The Champions League currently generates €3.6bn (£3.1bn) per season and UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti said at the start of this season: “We are working on [both] conservative and more optimistic projections in a range I would say between €4.6billion and €4.8bn.”
How the money will be distributed remains to be seen, however, with talks around that element ongoing.
Who has already qualified?
Twenty-eight of the 36 spots for the league phase have already been filled. They are:
England:Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa.
Spain:Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atlético Madrid
Germany: Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund
Italy: Inter Milan, Milan, Juventus, Atalanta, Bologna
France: Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Brest
Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Portugal: Sporting CP, Benfica
Belgium: Club Brugge
Scotland: Celtic
Austria: Sturm Graz.
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