>>149355473But football shouldn't be about how much money oil-backed trillion dollar brands are making. It's about the game. You're basically doubling down on the "football as a product" horseshit when you say that. And even so, the money is only irrelevant to PSG, Real, City and maybe Chelsea. Atlético, the Germans, the Portuguese and the Italians would financially benefit from advancing to later stages. There's a reason why Barcelona, Liverpool and other clubs that were left out started lobbying for 48 clubs.
I can understand perfectly if you say you don't care much as a fan. But players that earn millions shouldn't be protected by this discourse when they fail to do their jobs.