Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, said Monday (05) that the sharp rise in television rights shows that the new format of the European Champions League scheduled for 2024 has already achieved success.
“I think this shows that the new format was a huge hit even before it even started, just to sell TV rights,” Al-Khelaifi said.
The Champions League will undergo the most radical reforms in 20 years in 2024, which was officially announced in May this year after the confusion caused by the Superliga project, which was launched by several European clubs in 2021 with the aim of creating a special competition.
“Football must evolve, but in a way that respects all clubs: small, medium and large,” said the Paris Saint-Germain president, who also chairs the European Club Association (ECA) and vice-president of UEFA.
TV rights to European club competitions were sold for 15 billion euros for three years (from 2024 to 2027), a jump due to the increase in the number of participants in the Champions League to 36 teams.
The new format, which will come into effect in the 2024/2025 season, provides for an eight-round mini-tournament involving all teams instead of the traditional group stage.
