The expanded format has brought in names that casual viewers may not know, and that is exactly the point. Sabah, from a small municipality beside the Masazir salt lake, suddenly share the same stage as the game’s giants.
They are not alone:
For all the talk about saturation, these clubs offer something the competition sometimes lacks: novelty.
With 36 teams, 24 places in the next round and 114 league-phase matches, the early weeks no longer carry the same all-or-nothing edge as the old heavyweight group nights. That can blunt some drama, but it also opens the door to fresh narratives.
Instead of being locked into a familiar carousel of Real Madrid, Inter, Liverpool and Arsenal, supporters get the chance to discover a coach, a city or a club culture that would once have stayed on the margins.
That does not mean the old hierarchy has vanished. Paris Saint-Germain remain a symbol of football’s financial extremes, and Mbappe’s barbed verdict only sharpened that contrast. “I don't know everything about football but I know more than most,” he said, dismissing any urge to revisit his former club’s European rise.
That is the tension to watch now: the richest clubs still dominate the conversation, but the expanded league phase has given the tournament new faces and new reasons to tune in. As the next round of fixtures approaches, the question is whether the newcomers can turn curiosity into a proper Champions League story.