Celtic seize Champions League advantage as dunt on Rangers chin accelerates invite to £4.2BILLION jamboree
dailyrecord.co.ukUEFA's master of ceremony – or deputy general secretary to give him his full title – Giorgio Marchetti was in full salesman mode at last week's last ever Champions League group stage draw.He claimed the mammoth revamp sweeping through the world's most prestigious club competition next season was the biggest revolution in the tournament's 30-year history.
Those who remember only eight teams and latterly two group stages (yes, this was a real thing), it would be remiss to claim UEFA have never agitated for change.
But Marchetti – who makes Rowan Atkinson's character in Love Actually appear in a rush when hosting draws – was on hand to reinforce the message of change UEFA wants the world to hear.
The new league format, bye bye groups, will debut amid an era where football appears on the brink of civil war. From renegade A-list clubs agitating for a breakaway Super League to the riches flooding Saudi Arabia which is presenting a non-European league rival which makes China's free spending of yesteryear appear an irrelevance.
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