Champions League is a competition that brings together some of the best clubs in the world. Winning it requires more than just a roster filled with talented players, but also heart and luck. It’s not easy to win, and even the most dominant teams have struggled at times. The 1969-70 season was one such time, when Dutch club Feyenoord knocked out the defending champions Milan and went on to win the title.

The tournament underwent an overhaul in the early 1960s, when UEFA doubled the number of participating teams and added a group stage. However, the basic format remained the same, with a single round of knockout play advancing teams to the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

From the 2024-25 season onward, the number of participating clubs will increase from 32 to 36, and a new system will be implemented that sees teams compete against each other in a league phase followed by a knockout phase. Teams will be ranked in four seeding pots, and they will face opponents from those pots in a group stage that features a double round-robin.

During this stage, teams will earn three points for a win and one point for a draw. The top two from each group advance to the quarterfinals, and then the quarterfinal winners will continue on the normal knockout path that ends in the final. The final will still be played at a neutral venue decided by UEFA.