FC Porto and Sporting are the only Portuguese clubs in this season's Champions League, representing Portugal in Europe's premier club competition. The two teams start this week the new league phase of the competition, which replaced the previous group stage.
The two national clubs already have 43 million euros guaranteed in prizes just for participation in this phase of the Champions League. This amount represents a significant sum for the budgets of the Portuguese clubs.
The new format of the European competition brings changes to the traditional format, with teams playing more games in the initial phase before advancing to the knockout stages. This change affects the scheduling and preparation of the clubs involved.
With the season already underway, FC Porto and Sporting face the challenge of combining Champions League participation with domestic competitions, which requires squad management and specific strategies by the respective coaching staffs.
