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UEFA Quietly Tweaks Iconic Champions League Anthem

As the Champions League resumes, UEFA has unveiled a slightly reworked version of its emblematic anthem, originally composed in 1992 by Tony Britten. A few additional notes are enough to catch the ears of the most attentive listeners.

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UEFA Quietly Tweaks Iconic Champions League Anthem
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UEFA has quietly modified the Champions League anthem, unveiling a new version of the piece as the competition resumes. While the trilingual lyrics — French, German, English — remain unchanged, several additional notes can be heard, enough to surprise supporters most familiar with the piece.

Composed in 1992 by British musician Tony Britten, this anthem is inseparable from the ritual of the competition. For millions of fans, the match does not begin at kick-off but at the moment when the players enter the pitch and the opening bars ring out through the stadium. In September, during the first matchday of the group stage, it embodies both the reward for clubs that have secured their qualification and the starting point of a race for the spring trophy.

The new version preserves the original musical architecture and its emblematic lyrics — “Ils sont les meilleurs / Sie sind die Besten / These are the champions / Die Meister / Die Besten / Les grandes équipes / The champions” — but the overall sound differs enough to catch the ears of the most trained listeners.

UEFA has not officially communicated on the precise nature of these tweaks or the identity of the musician or musicians involved in this revision.

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