The 2023-24 UEFA Champions League season started with 32 wide-eyed teams, all dreaming of going deep into the competition. After grueling group-stage encounters and tense Round-of-16 battles, eight teams — Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, & Bayern Munich — have qualified for the quarter-finals, leaving the other 24 in despair.
Today, we will take a look at the teams who had the means to make it into the business end of this season’s competition but failed to find a way through. Here are the five most valuable teams who could not qualify for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals:
Valuation & stats: Transfermarkt
#5 Napoli: €513.15 million ($561.10 million)
Napoli Manager Francesco Calzona
Reigning Italian champions Napoli could not go deep into the UEFA Champions League this season. The €513.15 million ($561.10 million) outfit crashed out of the competition after losing to Barcelona in the Round of 16.
The Partenopei finished second in their Champions League group, behind record 14-time winners Real Madrid. In the Round-of-16 first leg, they held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw but failed to deliver in the return leg. Francesco Calzona’s side crumbled under pressure in Catalonia, suffering a 3-1 defeat and exiting the competition.
#4 AC Milan: €533.45 million ($583.30 million)
AC Milan Manager Stefano Pioli
The second-most successful team in UEFA Champions League history, seven-time winners AC Milan also prematurely crashed out of the competition this season. Unlike Napoli, €533.45 million ($583.30 million)-rated Milan could not even qualify for the Round of 16, crashing out in the group stage itself.
Fighting for a top-two finish alongside Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and Newcastle United in Group F, the Rossonerri fell a little short. With eight points on the board (2 W, 2 D, 2 L), Milan finished third, owing to their inferior head-to-head record with…
Source link : https://sportslens.com/news/uefa-champions-league-quarter-finals-5-most-valuable-teams-that-did-not-qualify-this-season/
Author : Sushan Chakraborty
Publish date : 2024-03-21 06:37:12
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.