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The Champions League has gotten off to an amazing start with the big games not disappointing thus far. Barcelona beat the Dutch champions PSV comprehensively and Liverpool narrowly beat Paris St. Germain in a 3-2 thriller.
Although we will see the regular players like Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar in the Champions League this season, we will be unable to witness the magic produced by the likes of Eden Hazard and Mesut Ozil, who will not be participating in Europe's most prestigious competition.
It is a loss for the players and fans alike. On that note, let's take a look at the players who will be missing out on this season's Champions League.
#5 Dimitri Payet
The French attacker has been an integral part of the Olympique Marseille squad since his return from England. Although he is 31, he has surprisingly only played in the Champions League 15 times, providing 2 assists.
Last season in Ligue 1, the attacking midfielder scored 6 goals and provided 14 assists in 31 appearances. These are incredible numbers and he is surely a player who can prove himself in the big stage.
Although his last Champions League appearance with Marseille was a disaster, losing all 6 games, in a group consisting of Dortmund, Napoli and Arsenal in the 2013/14 season, he will be raring to go and prove his worth in Europe's biggest competition whenever he gets the chance.
#4 Leon Bailey
Bayer Leverkusen narrowly missed out on this season's Champions League by goal difference in the Bundesliga. This meant that the talented squad that Leverkusen have will have to wait for another season to play in Europe.
The player who will be sorely missed is the Jamaican international Leon Bailey, who at just 21, had lit up the Bundesliga last season with 9 goals and 6 assists.
With interest from top teams in Europe, it would be just a matter of time before he ends up at a big club and becomes a regular fixture in the Champions League.
#3 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
The big Serbian was a revelation last season in the Serie A for Lazio. He became the breakout star, drawing interest from all the big teams in Europe after just a season. This proves how much effect he has had with Simone Inzaghi's Lazio side.
He contributed to 12 goals and 4 assists in 35 appearances for Lazio, who were also the highest scoring team in the league, with a massive 89 goals.
#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The Gabon international moved to the Emirates in the January window last season from Dortmund and got off to a blistering start in the league, scoring 10 and assisting 4 in just 13 appearances.
In his half-season stay with Dortmund last season, he scored 13 goals and assisted a further 3 in just 16 appearances in the league. His Champions League form wasn't to be neglected either, scoring 4 goals in 6 games, which proves he is the man for the big occasion.
With the Premier League getting tougher with every passing season, and with him not being in the best of form, scoring 1 in 5 appearances is worrying for the fans. But once he gets going it is just a matter of time before Arsenal are back in the top 4 once again.
#1 Eden Hazard
Chelsea failed to qualify for the Champions League for the 2nd time in the last 3 seasons. This shows what kind of a mess the Chelsea board are in, even with players of the quality of Eden Hazard, Willian, Kante and Azpilicueta in their squad.
The Belgian is now 27 and at the prime of his career. With his quality, he needs to be playing in the Champions League on a regular basis.
With his current form under Sarri, it seems unlikely Chelsea will miss out again. But this season, the absence of a player like Hazard is just a loss for Europe's most prestigious competition.
