The high-class semi-final first leg between FC Bayern and Real Madrid made it clear how devilishly well the Champions League entertainment format works. This could change with their reform.
This Champions League is a devilish product. Every reasonably informed football fan knows about the dark side of this bright competition and can recite arguments as to why you should skip the television: there is far too much money in the game, the rich are getting richer through the premier class, the gap is widening, the divides are getting lower and lower, and if FC Bayern shoots Viktoria Pilsen out of the arena again in the preliminary round, they will receive around 20 percent of Darmstadt 98’s entire personnel budget as a bonus for this one game alone. You know everything. It’s also a huge problem.