STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Lennart Johansson, a Swede who presided over European soccer for 17 years as its new Champions League turned into a global commercial juggernaut, has died after a short illness aged 89, Sweden’s Football Association said on Wednesday.

Johansson, president of European football association UEFA from 1990 to 2007, was a driving force behind the formation of the Champions League, giving the continent’s top club competition a new identity, a catchy anthem and worldwide reach.

His reign saw huge revenue streams flow into the continent’s big clubs, turning Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and others into multi-billion dollar enterprises, and their players into global megastars.

“World football will be always be grateful to him for all he has achieved for the beautiful game,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement. The Swedish FA said Swedish football was in mourning.

Johansson took over the top job in European football at a turbulent time when money from television coverage was flooding into the sport and players gained complete freedom to move between countries and clubs in Europe».