Liverpool gets glimpse into future as Champions League set for major shake-up

The Champions League winner will commence its trophy defence with a stand-alone glamor tie, as part of a significant overhaul of Europe's premier soccer competition starting from the 2027-28 season.

This implies that the current champion, Paris Saint-Germain, would host the inaugural match of the campaign on a Tuesday during the first week of the league phase. The remainder of the week's fixtures would then unfold on Wednesday and Thursday, marking a substantial revamp of the Champions League format.

Liverpool is the current Premier League champion and is expected to be part of the Champions League for years to come, meaning the Reds are likely to be impacted by this shake-up.

This mirrors the tradition in World Cups where the defending champions kick off first, and other sports like Wimbledon, where tennis champions are given prime time slots on Centre Court.

As reported by Mirror Football, this is part of a major shift in how UEFA markets the rights to the Champions League.

Netflix could potentially bid for streaming rights for one round of action per week.

It's understood that the global giant has already been approached.

Relevent Football Partners is handling the sale of the competition rights on behalf of UEFA, and it's believed this could result in a 10 percent increase in the value of the rights.

UEFA's current income from club competitions - including the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League - is estimated to be around £4 billion ($5 billion).

The Premier League's income is dwarfed by UEFA's, but both the governing body and clubs are actively seeking ways to boost revenue from the expanded competition.

This was a key topic of discussion at the recent European Football Clubs summit.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Co-Managing Director of UC3, the collective bargaining unit, stated: "The launch of this new sales tender marks a significant milestone in UC3's commercial strategy.

"By introducing a more flexible and globally focused approach, we aim to attract a broader range of partners and ensure UEFA's Club Competitions continue to lead the way in sports media innovation.

"Relevent Football Partners' expert knowledge of the commercial landscape make them an ideal partner to help us deliver on this ambition."

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