2 weeks ago
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Draw completed in Monaco
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Excitement for the return of the Champions League has ramped up after the draw for the league phase was completed on Thursday evening. Representatives of all 36 participating clubs descended on the glamorous coastal city of Monaco to discover their opponents. The Champions League was reformatted last season with the league phase replacing the traditional group stages.
Every club will play eight fixtures in the league phase, with the top eight clubs automatically qualifying for the last 16 with the teams finishing between 9th and 25th entering a play-off round. PSG famously thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in last season’s final to win the trophy for the first time in their history. Luis Enrique’s men will be amongst the favourites this season, alongside Arsenal, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. There’s some mouthwatering ties in the league phase and we’ve ranked the top ten most valuable games, using Transfermarkt data.
The most valuable Champions League league phases games
Although squad values will change before the end of the transfer window, Real Madrid possesses the most valuable squad in the world at €1.4billion, with Arsenal in second place at €1.37bn. Seven clubs have squads valued in excess of €1bn and they will all participate in the Champions League league phase. As the graphic below illustrates, Real Madrid vs Manchester City will be the most valuable game based on current squad values (accurate of August 29th).
The clash between Los Blancos and Pep Guardiola's men will have a combined squad value of €2.65 billion. The most valuable squad in the world also occupy second place as the travel to Anfield to face Liverpool - both squad values combined are €2.45b. Barcelona's clash with PSG in Catalonia completes the top three with the reigning Champions League holders featuring three times in the top ten.
