From Benzema, Kroos and Modric, quadruple winners of the C1, to Mané, Salah, Firmino or Van Dijk, crowned in 2019 with the Reds, many players will tread the lawn of the Stade de France having already lifted the most prestigious of European trophies .

Above all, since 2011, the Spanish clubs (eight times) and English (seven times) represent two thirds of the Champions League finalists, far ahead of the German teams (four times), Juventus Turin (two appearances) and PSG in 2020.

We even have to go back to the crazy 2003-2004 campaign to find a winner outside the four major European championships, FC Porto, even if Ajax Amsterdam made it to the semi-finals in 2019.

"There is an undeniable concentration for the most sought-after trophies, which goes hand in hand with the widening of economic gaps", summarizes Raffaele Poli, head of the CIES Football Observatory in Neuchâtel, to AFP.

Without uncertainty, what "magic"?

The observation applies "between the leagues", since the English championship "crushes the others" in terms of TV rights, but also in each country, where "big global brands that are sold on a global scale" sweep away domestic competition.

Real Madrid crowned European champion after their victory over Liverpool 3-1 in kyiv, May 26, 2018 LLUIS GENE AFP / Archives

And the growing windfall of European competitions accentuates the phenomenon, despite the "solidarity payments" to non-participating clubs, by further inflating the pockets of the leaders and their ability to pile up talents.

Under these conditions, is the C1 so different from the short-lived "Super League", a private project for a semi-closed tournament launched last year by twelve major clubs, including Liverpool and Real Madrid, before collapsing against the general outrage?

The question is crucial for UEFA, which defends its model of "open" competition to justify its monopoly, but also for many lovers of European football, attached to the principle of sporting uncertainty as much as to the success of their club. of heart.

But if the president of the body Aleksander Ceferin had made "competitive balance" a major objective to preserve "the magic of the game", from 2017, the leads are slow to materialize, and the subject has not been broached. at the recent congress in mid-May in Vienna.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin at the Champions League draw ceremony in Istanbul on August 26, 2021 OZAN KOSE AFP/Archives

Distribution to be negotiated

Ideas have been circulating for years, however, from the regulatory limitation of numbers or transfers to "a better distribution of income" drawn from European games, recalls Raffaelle Poli.

It remains to deal with the "very strong reluctance of the richest clubs", adds the economist, on which the attractiveness of the C1 is largely based and which make any radical reform unlikely.

Freshly overhauled, the "financial fair play" introduced in 2010 will integrate from 2023-2024 a reduced form of "salary cap", depending on the income of each club participating in European competitions.

Captain Jordan Henderson lifts the C1 trophy won by Liverpool at the expense of Tottenham in Madrid, June 1, 2019 JAVIER SORIANO AFP / Archives

For the most prosperous teams, it will nevertheless be possible to pay salaries and transfer commissions beyond the reach of a large part of the competition, or even to pay any fines.

No revolution to expect from the new Champions League format either beyond 2024, with its eight-day mini-championship as the first phase, then its unchanged knockout phase.

Some critics even fear that the eight matches of the first phase (instead of six) will favor the big clubs a little more, by reducing the sporting hazard.

On the other hand, the future distribution of revenue – on which no agreement has yet been reached – promises to be fiercely disputed, especially since the increase in the number of matches makes the C1 more lucrative than ever.

© 2022 AFP