A new winner, but is Champions League now a Super League by default?

Paris St-Germain are nan champions of Europe - first-time winners aft thrashing Inter Milan 5-0 successful nan astir one-sided last of nan competition's history.

They are nan first French broadside to triumph nan coveted prize since Marseille successful 1993 and only nan 24th different nine to assistance nan celebrated trophy.

On insubstantial nan Champions League and its caller format appears a much divers title - earlier you retrieve PSG's starting XI successful Munich costs £403m to assemble, compared to nan £137m Inter paid for their starting side.

"Everyone criticised america and doubted us, tons of group didn't judge successful our project," PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told Canal Plus.

"The nonsubjective now is to triumph again. It has taken 14 years of difficult activity but we are building thing for nan future."

Qatar Sports Investments bought PSG successful 2011. Since past the nine has spent 2.3bn euros (£2.1bn) connected transportation fees,, external according to estimates from Transfermarkt.

"If you return a look astatine their costs measure from past season, it was astir apt 1 of nan apical 2 aliases 3 highest successful European football," shot finance master Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport.

"It's romanticist successful nan consciousness they won nan Champions League for nan first clip and nan shot was perfectly brilliant. But from a financial constituent of view, you would expect them to beryllium location aliases thereabouts."

The past nine to triumph nan Champions League for nan first clip were Manchester City, who are nether Abu Dhabi ownership and, according to Deloitte's Money League, are nan 2nd richest nine successful nan world down only Real Madrid and 1 spot supra PSG.

The caller Champions League format involves much teams - 36 successful nan title due alternatively of 32 nether nan aged format - while nan caller convention shape offers fans much games, much goals and a chance to spot European heavyweights play 1 different much frequently.

It was introduced pursuing nan illness of a caller European Super League (ESL),, external arsenic astir of nan teams progressive withdrew aft a backlash led by fans.

But is nan new-look Champions League a European Super League successful each but name?

Twelve of Europe's starring clubs - including six from nan Premier League - signed up to plans to shape a European Super League successful 2021.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham were nan English representatives, joining AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona arsenic founding members.

The convention would person fundamentally replaced nan Champions League arsenic Europe's elite competition, but would not person had nan aforesaid qualification process whereby teams could participate via their home position.

At nan aforesaid time, nan founding members wanted to stay portion of their respective home leagues.

The plans proved controversial, not conscionable pinch supporters but pinch rival clubs who said it devalued home competition.

Given founding members of nan title could not beryllium 'relegated' from it, critics based on nan tourney was a closed book for Europe's elite teams.

PSG and Bayern Munich rejected approaches to join, while fans from nan clubs progressive held respective protests, starring to each six English clubs withdrawing from nan process.

Next season's Champions League will see six English Premier League teams alternatively of nan accustomed four.

Newcastle United, who vanished 5th successful nan table, will play successful nan title aft European football's governing assemblage Uefa awarded two prize spots to nan home leagues which performed champion successful Europe successful 2024-25.

Meanwhile, Tottenham - who vanished 17th - will besides subordinate Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea successful nan title aft winning nan Europa League.

Twenty-two of nan 36 places successful nan convention shape will travel from Europe's top-five leagues, pinch Spain securing 5 spots, Germany and Italy 4 each, while France will person 3 teams.

In addition, nan Netherlands will person 2 teams successful nan convention phase, while Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic, Turkey and Belgium will person 1 squad each.

Just 11 of those 29 clubs person qualified for nan convention shape arsenic champions of their state this season.

That leaves only 7 places to beryllium decided done nan qualifying rounds.

"I don't deliberation it's correct that England should person six teams successful nan Champions League," said Ian Dennis, elder shot newsman astatine BBC Radio 5 Live., external

"I cognize why. We're gearing ourselves towards...it's efficaciously a Super League successful each but name.

"But if you deliberation astir it, nan power of nan Premier League teams successful nan various European competitions, nan English coefficient unless it's unusual, will ever beryllium successful nan apical three, if not nan apical two.

"And truthful nan English clubs are ever going to use pinch nan other place.

"Now England person sewage six clubs successful nan Champions League, Spain person sewage five…I deliberation it's going to beryllium very difficult to effort to wrestle that distant from nan English sides."

Who were nan past existent underdogs to triumph nan Champions League - and will it hap again?

Jose Mourinho's Porto enjoyed a fairytale tally to nan final, external successful 2003-04, which included beating a ascendant Manchester United on nan way, earlier defeating Monaco 3-0 successful nan final.

In 21 editions since, location person been 10 different winners - Real Madrid (six times), Barcelona (4), Liverpool (2), Chelsea (2), Bayern Munich (2), AC Milan (1), Manchester United (1), Inter Milan (1), Manchester City (1) and Paris St-Germain (1).

"The probability of different Porto winning nan Champions League is astir nan aforesaid arsenic different Leicester City winning nan Premier League," Maguire added.

"We've had a attraction of wealthiness successful nan hands of less and less clubs. We person sewage nan emergence of dynasties now.

"The Champions League is very overmuch geared and gradual towards able clubs - and that's owed to having to springiness distant concessions to nan Super League clubs successful bid to dissuade them from reconsidering mounting up their ain competition."

After Manchester City's occurrence successful 2023 and PSG's triumph successful Munich, who will beryllium nan adjacent first-time winners?

"Arsenal are good placed because they do person superior finance arsenic acold arsenic nan squad is concerned - astir apt successful nan region of £700m to £800m," added Maguire.

Inter Milan were nan past Italian nine to triumph nan Champions League successful 2010 erstwhile Mourinho was successful charge.

Maguire added: "Could we spot different Italian nine possibly do it? Possibly, but I honestly judge it's unlikely. In France, it's PSG aliases cipher fixed nan collapse of nan French TV deal., external

"In Spain, if Atletico Madrid tin get their ducks successful order.

"That's astir apt arsenic acold arsenic we tin go."