ANOTHER Champions League group stage has come and gone. Sixteen teams go into tomorrow’s pot. The cash-cow club football carnival soldiers on, tossing off scraps for everyone to feed on. And it’s not just about “stakeholders” either. Yes, broadcasters fill their boots, sponsors lavish millions, players gain exposure and fans get their fill.

But it goes beyond that. As the most valuable annually-recurring property in the game – probably in sport – it also offers plenty of scope to wax philosophical and reflect on more profound issues. Nine of the 10 wealthiest clubs in Europe, according to Deloitte’s Football Money League, entered the competition, all nine advanced, each with at least 11 points.

The rich stay rich, the one-percenters continue to rule, the others fight for scraps. And, incidentally, the fact so many Premier League clubs are rich also explains why this year, with five out of five qualifying, is more a case of normal service resuming after past seasons’ underachievement.

That is one way to look at it. Or you can turn it around. Benfica are on the rich list, too – 14th among the 32 participants – and they finished last, on zero points. Real Madrid, Bayern and Chelsea – respectively third, fourth and eighth among participating clubs – all finished second, behind lower-ranked sides.

Besiktas, who had never advanced to the knockout round, won their group; Monaco, the French champions, finished last, with just two points. Which was the same tally as Borussia Dortmund, the second biggest club in the Bundesliga and 11th among the 32.

But perhaps the biggest eyebrow- raising failure was that of Atletico Madrid. Third in La Liga going into the weekend, in the past four seasons they reached the final twice, the semis once and the quarter-final the other time – Atletico finished third in Group C.

So which is it? Unsatisfyingly, perhaps a combination of both. Better-resourced teams tend to do better but there is no direct, linear relationship with success. Equally, because of the dynamics of group play, you can and do witness upsets on a fairly regular basis. And surely that is what we want to see, right? Somewhere between a free-for-all where more talented clubs stumble continually and a cemented hierarchy where the same sides always triumph?

If there is a noteworthy theme ahead of tomorrow it’s that in years past it often felt as if there were three dominant super-clubs: Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern. Now, other than Manchester City, who arguably have had their own mini-wobble of late, no side have been consistently outstanding. Bayern have changed managers, been hit by injuries and lost as recently as two weeks ago.

Barcelona have a major injury crisis at the back and have dropped points in three of their last five outings in all competitions. Real Madrid sit fourth in La Liga and have already been defeated three times: at this stage last year, they were unbeaten.

Juventus were third in Serie A heading into the weekend and had to sweat their way into the round of 16. Manchester United, despite racking up results domestically, are eight points back and still being criticised for their style of play.

Even the predicted juggernaut, Paris St Germain, find themselves under fire. They had lost their last two games heading into the weekend and questions linger about Unai Emery’s ability to keep the egos cohesive.

That is not a bad thing. We want a more open Champions League, at least among the better teams. In the current era, that’s the best we can hope for.

TO his critics, Cristiano Ronaldo long ago crossed the line into self-parody. But perhaps a more accurate assessment of the Portuguese superstar is that he really doesn’t care what others think (unless they are jurors with a vote to give him another award).

“I’m the best player in history, in the good moments and the bad ones,” he said, after winning his fifth Balon d’Or last week. “I respect everyone’s preferences, but I’ve never seen anyone better than me.”

That, obviously, grabbed the headlines and simply fuelled his critics. They pointed out that he’s not the best player of his era (certainly, Lionel Messi would have a rather strong case). And that bigging yourself up like that is an insult to the greats of the past, from Pele to Diego Maradona.

To be fair to Ronaldo, he did then go into a discussion about being the “most complete” player in that he’s two-footed, big, strong, fast, good in the air, in a way most candidates for Greatest of All Time are not. Maybe that is what he meant.

But it still shows a remarkable lack of self-awareness given how his 2017-18 campaign has started. He got a six-match ban, he scored just twice in his first 10 Liga appearances, his team found themselves in fourth place and second in the Champions League group stage. Now might be a good time to keep a lower profile rather than stake out your place in history.

Yet this is what makes him what he is. He really believes it and he’s in an echo chamber of folks who don’t dare tell him otherwise. Or maybe telling himself, and the world, that he truly is the GOAT helps him through difficult periods on the pitch.

Whatever it is, he’s unlike most other superstars. And we will miss him when he’s gone.

IF there’s one trait Sam Allardyce shares with Ronaldo – other than height – it’s confidence and a willingness to share it. It goes back to the “Allardici” days and, to be fair, as he and his fans regularly remind us, he has often been proved right.

In that sense, his appointment at Everton on a short-term basis is perfectly logical. Certainly more so than trying to march in to other clubs to try to prise away their managers in mid-season, as they reportedly tried with Watford’s Marco Silva and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Paulo Fonseca. Allardyce helps avoid disaster and you then evaluate what you want to do long term.

Yet the fact that he was given an 18-month contract suggests maybe he sees it a bit different. If Everton view him as a short-term solution while they plan long term with a managerial “bright young thing” they will need to be strong come the spring. Because if Allardyce does well and decides he wants to stick around he has the contacts and nous to derail their best-laid plans and plant himself on the managerial seat.