UEFA Champions League 2024-25 Draw Highlights: Real Madrid vs Liverpool, Barcelona v Bayern in league phase

Gigi Buffon draws Manchester City as the first team in this UCL draw. Man City to play Inter as one of its opponents.

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Giorgio Marchetti, the vice secretary general of UEFA, arrived on stage to start the draw and explains the procedure before beginning the process.

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Cristiano Ronaldo honoured with special award for UCL legacy during UEFA Champions League 2024-25 draw

Cristiano Ronaldo is 11 goals clear of Lionel Messi and 46 ahead of third-placed Robert Lewandowski at the top of the scoring charts, in the UEFA Champions League.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin steps up on the stage and announces that Gianluigi Buffon gets the President’s Award for his brilliant contribution to the game. Over the years, he has become a legend of the game.

The UEFA Champions League draw begins with a live performance of the iconic Champions League anthem.

Ronaldo, the highest-ever goalscorer in the Champions League arrives to receive his award at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

All 36 teams will be manually drawn using physical balls.

For every team manually drawn, a designated automated software will randomly draw eight opponents across the four pots, who will be revealed on screen in the draw hall and on television.

The software will also decide which matches will be at home and which ones away.

Pot 3

Feyenoord (NED), Sporting CP (POR), PSV Eindhoven (NED), GNK Dinamo (CRO), Salzburg (AUT), Lille (FRA), Crvena Zvezda (SRB), Young Boys (SUI) , Celtic (SCO)

Pot 4

Slovan Bratislava (SVK), Monaco (FRA), Sparta Praha (CZE), Aston Villa (ENG), Bologna (ITA), Girona (ESP), Stuttgart (GER), Sturm Graz (AUT), Brest (FRA)

Pot 1

Real Madrid (ESP), Manchester City (ENG), Bayern München (GER), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Liverpool (ENG), Inter (ITA), Dortmund (GER), Leipzig (GER), Barcelona (ESP)

Pot 2

Leverkusen (GER), Atlético de Madrid (ESP), Atalanta (ITA), Juventus (ITA), Benfica (POR), Arsenal (ENG), Club Brugge (BEL), Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), AC Milan (ITA)

The new season of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) will see its first chapter begin at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco when its draw begins under a brand new format on Thursday.

This will also mark the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Champions League as it will see more teams, a different format and the chance for greater competition, with the tournament beginning on September 17.

The draw is the first landmark of each Champions League season; a ritual, a date circled in the calendar and not to be missed.

There is something reassuringly old-school about the release of balls into a bowl, the swish as they are shuffled around, then the names being held up to the camera for all to see after being selected. That will still happen to an extent but then the computer will take over to ensure the draw happens impartially, without a figment of doubt.

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UEFA Champions League draw: All you need to know about UCL 2024-25 draw, groups, format, live streaming info

This draw on Thursday also mark the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Champions League as it will see more teams, a different format and the chance for greater competition.