Forget the European Super League: The Champions League is already a playground for the rich

When the idea of the European Super League was revealed – and quickly shot down – in April, the footballing world was up in arms.

The beautiful game is not a commercial commodity, the counterarguments asserted, and it is not for sale to the highest bidder. There is, the purists would tell you, still some heart and soul in the sport.

But when we look at the Champions League each season, there is something of an elephant in the room: money buys success at the elite level of football, and the continent's premier competition is already a 'super league' of its own.

There are still fun stories, such as the minnows of Sheriff Tiraspol beating the might of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium, but these tales of giant-killing exploits are few and far between. Increasingly, the Champions League is centred on the same teams and the same faces. Essentially, the modus operandi of the European Super League proposition.

When was the last time a true underdog won the tournament? You'd arguably have to go back to the FC Porto side of Jose Mourinho in 2004 – the best part of two decades ago.

And if you look at the Champions League betting odds, the best chance that an unfancied team has to win the tournament, falls at the feet of Ajax, led by largely unknown head coach Erik ten Hag. They are priced at 20/1.

There's one thing that the favourites for the Champions League 2021/22 and the most frequent winners of the trophy have in common: money, and lots of it.

A Different Time and Place

Rewind 20 years and the leading players in the competition had transfer market values under £40 million – Thierry Henry, Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Brazilian Ronaldo and co. In today's market, that same £40 million is small fry spending, particularly when you look at the value of each team. Some research in this blog post by Betway found that Liverpool's squad is now worth in excess of £1 billion, with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Trent Alexander-Arnold and perhaps even the likes of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk all commanding transfer fees of £100 million or more.

What's more, at the last 16 stage of the 2020/21 Champions League, eight of the ten most valuable squads in the world were present and correct. The finalists of the 2019/20 edition – Bayern Munich and PSG – ranked third and fourth on the list. Neymar, who joined the Parisians for around £185 million, is worth the same as the seven most valuable players in the competition as of 2003/04.

The disparity between the haves and the have nots is clear for all to see. Sheriff Tiraspol's entire squad has a transfer value of £19 million according to Transfer Mrkt. Neymar, on his reported £31 million salary, earns that amount in about seven months.

It's interesting that those so keen to save football's 'soul' by staving off the European Super League are so willing to turn a blind eye to the capitalism of the Champions League. A two-tiered sport? It's already upon us.