Thierry Henry believes that the expanded Champions League format features 'too many games' amid football's increasingly saturated schedule, as he urged people to consider the physical and mental strains that top players face.
Under the newly-introduced 'Swiss' system, each team will play a minimum of eight league phase games - up from six in the previous group stage - while 16 teams will also participate in a two-legged playoff to reach the round of 16 (and join eight automatic qualifiers).
And while Henry, now a pundit with CBS in the United States, believes the expanded slate of games is a positive in terms of his TV career, his perspective as an ex-player and coach is very different.
'I think for us, for CBS, it's just outstanding - more games, to be able to talk about more games,' he began on a CBS Champions League Zoom call. 'But there is a but for me, because I'm going to go on the side of being a coach: too many games, too many games.
'[As] an ex-player I don't know how those guys do it. As a pundit, I love it, but as an ex-player and as a coach, it's too many games. [Jude] Bellingham is already injured. It's tough to play a season, and then go to the Euros, and come back and play [in the] national team, and more games, and more games left, more games right...'
Thierry Henry admitted that the expanded Champions League slate was 'outstanding' for CBS - but less than ideal for players
A recent FIFPRO report highlighted Phil Foden as one of the world's most overworked players
'So as much as I want to see Milan [versus] Liverpool and I want to see a Manchester City in there, I want to see the best players on the field, being able to perform whenever they can,' the former Monaco manager continued. 'That's also part of the product - having also the best players on the field being able to perform all the time. So yes, it is outstanding for us. But if I was a coach [in this Champions League], I don't know if I would've found it outstanding.'
Henry's comments come after players' union FIFPRO released its recent workload report - which revealed that 54 percent of 1500 players monitored worldwide experienced 'excessive or high workload demands' during the 2023/24 season.
The organization also noted that England and Man City star Phil Foden played a staggering 72 games for club and country last year, and projected that number to rise to a ridiculous 83 for him in the 2025/26 season.
In a vacuum, Henry is not necessarily against the changes to the Champions League but feels the expanded schedule is excessive in conjunction with the myriad other competitions that top players appear in.
'If you focus on [only] the Champions League, I think it's okay - the amount of games. It's when you add the Nations League, it's when you add the FIFA World Cup at the end of the season now... if in England, you play the Carabao Cup, you play the [FA] Cup - it's too much,' Henry said.
'If you are a great player, it is not okay... you want to be part of all those games.'
Henry, who coached France's U-23 men's Olympic squad to a silver medal over the summer, also suggested that the increasingly bloated schedule takes a mental strain on players.
'Do the math for a player that plays every game,' he said. 'So let's not only talk about physically. Let's talk about mentally and what it does to a player to always perform. Forget about the money and the outcome. I'm only talking about just the players and their integrity.'
Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, seen after winning last year's Champions League trophy, has missed the early part of this season through injury
Jamie Carragher, seen with Micah Richards, said he was 'really excited' about the new format
Meanwhile, ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher expressed a more positive outlook on the new format
'I'm really excited about it,' he said.
'I'm a massive fan of the Champions League, but I always felt the Champions League came alive after Christmas in the knockout stage... I think this new format does feel like every game will be given the full Champions League feeling and vibe about it really.'
Under the new 36-team system, each team will play two sides apiece from four different pots (which are sorted by coefficient points) to form a league table.
The top eight teams will automatically move onto the round of 16, those ranked 9-24 will enter into a playoff, and those who finish 25-36 will be eliminated.
The league phase begins next Tuesday, September 16.