Champions League: What do PSG, Bayern, Lyon, and RB Leipzig have in common?

The Champions League quarter-finals were filled with dramatic results. Many massive clubs crashed out in unexpected ways. There may be one big reason why.

Remember back in March when UEFA was not happy that the domestic leagues in France and the Netherlands canceled their seasons?

The European football regulatory body wanted all the big leagues to be on the same page. One reason for this stance was for competitive balance and scheduling purposes.

The Champions League quarter-finals played out over four nights in Lisbon over five months after the pandemic shut the continent’s football leagues down.

The Bundesliga, Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga all held out for an early summer return. It is quite clear that the primary motivator for the re-start was to re-coup lost revenue in the form of TV contracts.

The unintended consequences of the re-start played themselves out during the Champions League quarter-finals last week.

This year there will be no Premier League team in the semi-finals. Last year there were two.

There will be no La Liga teams in the semi-finals. Barcelona repped the Spanish league last year.

The German top division and Ligue One both have two representatives. I sincerely doubt that any betting person had the final four of Lyon, Bayern Munich, PSG, and RB Leipzig in the semis at the start of the competition last fall.

If such a person is out there, please have them DM me because I need to get in on that action.

Yet, there was one colossal theme that played out in those stunning quarter-final matches, which the victors less of a surprise than initially believed.