Which is the most valuable team, player in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup?

Liga MX giants Club América, whose 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup campaign begins against Nicaraguans Real Estelí on Tuesday, boast the most valuable team in the new continental tournament. According to figures compiled by Transfermarkt, a website that specializes in calculating soccer transfer values, América’s squad is worth €96.9 million ($104.2 million), some €5 million ($5.4 million) more than their nearest challenger.

Liga MX, MLS dominate list of Champions Cup’s costliest squads

The ranking of the Champions Cup’s most expensive rosters reflects the regional financial hegemony of the Liga MX and Major League Soccer. Mexicans Monterrey sit second on the list with a first-team group worth €91.4m ($98.3m), just knocking MLS club Inter Miami and their star-studded squad into third place (€90.1m, $96.9m).

Indeed, Liga MX and MLS clubs account for the top 16 most valuable squads, according to Transfermarkt’s data. Outside of those two leagues, Costa Ricans LD Alajuelense have the roster with the highest market worth. The total estimated price tag of all Alajuelense’s players adds up to a comparatively paltry €7.8m ($8.4m).

Who’s the most valuable player in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup?

While América are widely considered as favourites to win the Champions Cup in its first year since replacing the CONCACAF Champions League, Las Águilas do not, however, have the revamped tournament’s most valuable player.

Indeed, América’s top-priced individual, forward Julián Quiñones, is only the Champions Cup’s fifth-most valuable player, with an estimated market worth of €10m ($10.7m). Quiñones is behind Monterrey’s Sergio Canales (€11m/$11.8m), Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar (€12m/$12.9m), Columbus Crew’s Facundo Torres (€14m/$15.1m) and Miami’s eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi (€35m/$37.6m).

How does the CONCACAF Champions Cup differ from the CONCACAF Champions League?

After 16 years of the Champions League, CONCACAF’s decision to rebrand its major men’s continental tournament sees it revert to the name the trophy was originally given when it was created in 1961. The Champions Cup will retain the Champions League’s knockout format, but has been expanded from 16 to 27 teams, with a total of five rounds instead of four.

Twenty-two teams enter the Champions Cup in round one, while five clubs are given a bye in the opening phase and are placed directly into the hat for the round of 16.

The Champions Cup will be played over two legs at every stage except for the final, which will be held as a single game. This represents another change from the Champions League, which mostly maintained a home-and-away format in every round. The final of the 2024 Champions Cup is scheduled for Sunday 2 June.

Do the winners still qualify for the Club World Cup?

Yes; like the winners of the 2022 and 2023 CONCACAF Champions League, the team that lifts the 2024 Champions Cup will stamp their ticket to not one, but two global club tournaments. They will not only qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup - the inaugural edition of FIFA’s expanded, 32-team event - but will also earn a spot at the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

Announced by world soccer’s governing body last year, the Intercontinental Cup will be the new yearly competition contested by the reigning champions of each of FIFA’s six regional confederations (UEFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, AFC, CAF and OFC). The Intercontinental Cup replaces the Club World Cup as FIFA’s annual event, as the latter will now be staged every four years.

Real Estelí vs Club América: start time, how to watch

Club América visit Real Estelí in the first-round first leg of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup today, Tuesday 6 February 2024, with kick-off at the Estadio Independencia scheduled for 10pm ET/7pm PT.

TV viewers in the United States will be able to watch the game on FOX Sports 2 and TUDN USA.

You can also stream Estelí vs América live on fuboTV, which offers users a free trial.