Sporting has already secured 48.4 million euros in earnings from the Champions League, even before playing any match. This value results from a fixed participation prize of 18.6 million and 29.7 million in "value pillar", which includes broadcasting rights and European history. Last season, the Lions reached the quarter-finals, their best ever performance in the competition, having earned 79.5 million euros.
The Alvalade team was valued at 378.7 million euros by Transfermarkt, losing the status of the most valuable team in the Portuguese League after selling players with high market value. Sporting faces five opponents with higher market value in this League phase: Manchester City (1.4 billion), FC Barcelona (1.2 billion), Manchester United (924 million), AS Roma (484 million) and Galatasaray (411.6 million).
This Wednesday at 8:00 PM, Sporting hosts Galatasaray at Alvalade, the Turkish league champion. The calendar continues with trips to RC Lens (October 13th) and Shakhtar Donetsk (November 3rd), and home games against LASK Linz (October 21st), Manchester United (November 25th) and FC Barcelona (January 20th). The League phase ends on January 27th with a visit to Manchester City.
Sporting broke transfer records this window, exceeding 200.8 million euros with the departures of Hjulmand, Trincão, Diomande and Pedro Gonçalves. To compensate, the Lions spent 123.2 million euros on signings, including 30 million for Zalazar's pass from SC Braga.
