Exiled in Saudi Arabia since January 2023 (in the wake of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar), Cristiano Ronaldo will get a taste of the Champions League again on Thursday. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is invited by UEFA to receive an honorary trophy from the hands of president Aleksander Ceferin, during the draw for the brand new “league phase” of the most beautiful European competition, Thursday in Monaco, at the Grimaldi Forum, at 6 p.m.
“CR7” is honored as the all-time top scorer in the Champions League, having scored an extraordinary 140 goals in the star-studded competition, 11 more than Lionel Messi. A five-time Champions League winner (once with Manchester United, four times with Real Madrid), Ronaldo has finished top scorer in seven different seasons. He set the record at 17 goals in the 2013-14 campaign, including a final penalty in extra time against Atlético for the Decima Merengues.
Ronaldo will discover the new formula
There are 36 clubs that will be at the draw for this new Champions League. The eight-group phase therefore gives way to a championship, where the clubs will face eight different opponents (4 at home, 4 away). They will all appear in a general ranking of 36. The top eight on the evening of January 29 will qualify directly for the round of 16, the teams ranked from 9th to 24th place will face each other in the play-offs in February.
This draw can be followed from 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, live on Canal+, which has the matches of the three European cups. Hervé Mathoux, Gauthier Kuntzmann, Laure Boulleau and David Ginola will analyze the groups of the French clubs, PSG, AS Monaco, Stade Brestois and perhaps Losc, who play their return play-off on Wednesday evening. Margot Dumont, recruited at beIN Sports, will be in Monaco to collect the reactions of the leaders. And perhaps of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo!
