Strong motivation for Real to make it No. 15: Ancelotti

ISTANBUL • Title holders Real Madrid and the rest of Europe's elite clubs will be able to start plotting their route to Champions League glory when the draw for this season's group stage is made in Istanbul today.

All going to plan, the journey will end back in the Turkish city on June 10 for the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, the same venue where Liverpool memorably beat AC Milan on penalties in 2005.

Spanish La Liga champions Real have now been crowned kings of Europe 14 times, twice as many times as the competition's next most successful club, Milan, and they started this season by defeating Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt in Helsinki to lift the Uefa Super Cup.

"The joy and satisfaction you get after such wins tend to stick around, making you feel like no one should ever take your place. And that's a pretty strong motivation to keep winning," coach Carlo Ancelotti told uefa.com recently, when asked about the chances of a repeat triumph for his side.

Their success is likely to be recognised elsewhere today, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Karim Benzema nominated alongside Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne for the Uefa Men's Player of the Year prize for last season.

Ancelotti, who is the first coach to win the Champions League four times, is nominated alongside City manager Pep Guardiola and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for the coaching gong.

As for the draw itself, Real are in Pot One along with the champions of Europe's other leading leagues, in the shape of City, Bayern Munich, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto and Ajax Amsterdam, as well as Europa League winners Frankfurt.

Liverpool, who lost in the final in May, will be in Pot Two, meaning there is a possibility that they could get a rematch with Real.

Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are the other English representatives. Russian clubs are banned because of the war, but Ukraine - where a new domestic season kicked off this week - will be represented by Shakhtar Donetsk.

What awaits all clubs in the Champions League is an intense two months of competition, with a World Cup in November and December that forces Uefa to organise all six match days in the space of nine weeks, starting on Sept 6.

There will be an international break in that period too, and the demands on players will be greater than ever, but the financial rewards will make it worthwhile.

A Uefa circular sent to member associations last month detailed the prize money this season, with the winners receiving around €90 million (S$124.8 million).

On top of that will be an added share from the television market pool of each country as well as amounts depending on a team's ranking based on performances over the last 10 years.

That ranges from €1.14 million for the lowest-ranked side taking part to over €36 million for Real, who boast the best coefficient.

The draw for the Europa League - featuring the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and AS Roma - takes place tomorrow, with the Europa Conference League draw just after.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE