After several close calls in recent seasons, Pep Guardiola’s team finally took home the trophy last season when they defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul.
Rivals and Champions League holders will be drawn.
September 19 and 20 will see the start of the Champions League group stage.
© AFP.
When the group stage draw takes place in Monaco on Thursday at 16:00 GMT, holders Manchester City and the best of European football will find out their Champions League fate for this year.
Pep Guardiola’s team won the trophy for the first time after several close calls in recent seasons when they defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in last season’s final in Istanbul in June thanks to a lone Rodri goal.
The Europa League champions Sevilla, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain, Feyenoord, and Benfica are all in the first pot of seeds for this season’s group stage along with them.
Since many of the teams to avoid will be in the second pot due to the draw’s format, those six clubs, along with City, are the champions of the top-ranked European nations.
Along with Inter and Premier League heavyweights Arsenal and Manchester United, Real Madrid, who have won the European Cup a record 14 times, will be the champions in 2022.
The Gunners are back in Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 2016/17 after Mikel Arteta’s team finished second to City in England the previous campaign.
Newcastle United, the fourth Premier League representative, will be placed in pot 4 for the draw and has not participated in the Champions League in 20 years.
In light of the fact that Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are also in pot 2, in addition to AC Milan and Lazio being among the third seeds, the Magpies can anticipate being placed in a very challenging group.
New faces.
The French team Lens, who haven’t played in the Champions League in 20 years, is another newcomer to the competition this year along with Newcastle.
After placing fourth in the Bundesliga the previous year, Union Berlin will make their first appearance in the league’s history.
The opening group stage games will be played on September 19 and 20, and the season’s championship game will be played on June 1, 2024, at Wembley Stadium in London.
The Champions League will no longer be played in its current format, which has been in place for 20 years, after this season.
UEFA will introduce a new, expanded group stage with 36 teams, up from the current 32, and everyone playing eight matches instead of the current six in a format known as the “Swiss system” the following season.
The Champions League is the pinnacle of club football on the continent, and that is reflected in the prize money, with UEFA awarding participating clubs a total of two billion euros ($2.19 billion).
Being in the group stage is worth 15 point 64 million euros, and each victory is worth an additional 2 point 8 million.
In addition, the winning team will receive more than 50 million euros in prize money.
Teams are also paid according to their place in the UEFA club ranking; as the top-ranked team, Real Madrid receives over 36 million euros, and the lowest-ranked team receives just over one million euros.
The men’s player of the year award is being competed for by City stars Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland at the gala event in Monaco where the awards for the previous season will be presented.
Lionel Messi, who left PSG for Inter Miami in June, is also included on the shortlist of three players.
Aitana Bonmati, Olga Carmona, Sam Kerr of Australia, and Chelsea, along with World Cup champions from Spain who also played for Alexia Putellas, are up for the women’s prize.
(This article is automatically generated from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by NDTV staff. )
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