Champions League Draw Introduces New Format and System

The latest edition of the UEFA Champions League promises thrilling encounters right from the start, following the draw held in Monaco.

Top-seeded Real Madrid, reigning Spanish champions, will play against Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Salzburg, Lille, Stuttgart, and Brest in the group stages.

This season, the Champions League features 36 clubs, with each team playing eight matches. Unlike previous editions, all teams are grouped into a single league table rather than traditional groups.

The teams are divided into four tiers, each consisting of nine clubs. Each club will face two teams from each tier, playing four matches at home and four away.

The top eight teams from the league standings will automatically advance to the round of 16. Clubs finishing between ninth and twenty-fourth place will compete in a playoff round, with eight winners advancing to join the top eight in the knockout stages.

Teams finishing 25th to 36th in the standings will see their Champions League journey come to an end, with no participation in other European competitions this season.

The draw placed Manchester City, four-time Premier League champions, and 2022 Champions League winners, in the top tier alongside Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Club Brugge, Juventus, Feyenoord, Sporting Lisbon, Sparta Prague, and Slovan Bratislava.

Inter Milan, the reigning Italian champions, will face off against Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City, Arsenal, Red Star Belgrade, Young Boys, Monaco, and Sparta Prague.

Six-time champions Bayern Munich will battle Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Benfica, Shakhtar Donetsk, Genk, Feyenoord, Slovan Bratislava, and Aston Villa.

Leipzig, also seeded in the top tier, will encounter Liverpool, Inter, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Celtic, Aston Villa, and Sturm Graz.

Paris Saint-Germain is set to take on Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Salzburg, Girona, and Stuttgart.

Liverpool’s challenging group includes Real Madrid, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Milan, Lille, Eindhoven, Bologna, and Girona.

Borussia Dortmund is drawn against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Club Brugge, Celtic, Genk, Sturm Graz, and Bologna.

Finally, Barcelona will meet Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Benfica, Young Boys, Red Star Belgrade, Brest, and Monaco.

UEFA’s radical changes to the competition this season are seen as both a sporting and political maneuver, aimed at oppressing the proposed Super League, which has repeatedly caused controversy. Additionally, the expanded format is expected to generate increased revenue, advertising opportunities, and overall income for the clubs involved.

The eventual champion, who will lift the trophy on May 31, 2025, in Munich, will receive a prize of at least €86 million, up from the previous €68 million. In total, €2.467 billion will be distributed among the participating clubs (compared to €2 billion in 2023-2024).

The first stage of this new-look competition will take place between September 17, 2024, and January 29, 2025.