From this season, Champions League has been overhauled to a new format. This year there are 32 teams competing across a league phase, with the top eight qualifying for the last 16 automatically. The remainder will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off.
Since its revamp in 1992, the Champions League has become one of the most lucrative media sport commodities in the world. Real Madrid leads the tournament’s modern era with nine titles, followed by Barcelona (Spain), AC Milan (Italy), Ajax (Netherlands) and Chelsea (England). Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Juventus are the only other clubs to have won two or more championships.
Domestic champions and runners-up from the major European footballing nations are eligible for the competition, along with the best ranked club outside these countries that meets stadium, infrastructure and finance criteria. The governing body, UEFA, uses a coefficient system to determine seeding for the randomized draw of groups at the start of the tournament. Its goal is to ensure that the strongest domestic leagues do not dominate the competition.
In the group stage, teams are arranged in a double round-robin, playing each other home and away, with points awarded for wins, draws and goals scored. A team must have at least four points to advance from the group, and teams may not be drawn together unless they are from the same association. From the quarterfinals onwards, the draw is purely random and association protection is removed. Should the aggregate score be level at the end of the tie, the away-goals rule is applied.