What is the Champions League and how does it work?
The Champions League is Europe's leading annual club tournament. Thirty six teams play a league phase before knockout rounds decide which two contest the final.
Back in 1955, a French sports journalist had an idea. What if the best clubs from across Europe played each other in one tournament to settle who was actually the best?
He drew up plans, pitched them to UEFA, and they liked it. The European Champion Clubs' Cup was born, or simply the European Cup.
For decades it did exactly what the name said. Win your domestic league and you were in it the following season. Lose in the first round and that was your year finished, with no way back unless you won your league all over again.
In 1992 it was rebranded. A group stage was added ahead of the knockouts, and it took the name most people use now: the UEFA Champions League. Usually just the Champions League, or UCL.
How it works today
There are 55 national football associations in Europe, each with its own league. England's Premier League. Italy's Serie A. Croatia's Hrvatska Nogometna Liga. Poland's Ekstraklasa. The Champions League filters the best clubs from all of them down to 36 teams in one tournament.
Those 36 play eight games each in a single league phase. Everyone sits in one big table together, which is the part that surprises people, because it isn't small groups anymore.
The top finishers go straight through to the knockout rounds. The teams just below them enter a playoff round for the remaining places. Everyone else is out.
From there it's two-legged knockout ties, home and away, until two teams are left. The final is one game at a neutral stadium.
How a club qualifies
Countries with historically strong leagues get more places. In the biggest leagues, finishing in roughly the top four is usually enough to qualify automatically.
Clubs from smaller countries have a harder route. They typically have to win their domestic league and then come through several preliminary rounds over the summer just to reach the main competition.
Winning the tournament also earns a place in the next edition, so holders don't have to qualify the hard way.
When the games are played
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with the occasional Thursday. That's so clubs can still fulfill their league fixtures at the weekend.
If you're wondering why a team looks exhausted on a Saturday, check whether they played in Europe on the Wednesday.
Who has won it most
Real Madrid, by a distance, with 15 titles. AC Milan are next. After that it thins out quickly, which tells you how difficult the competition is to win even for very good clubs.
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