Germany's Bundesliga said Thursday it has sold the international and domestic broadcasting rights for four seasons to 2021 for an average record price of at least 1.4 billion euros per season.

Pay TV Sky lost its domestic monopoly to screen matches live although it kept its grip on most weekend games. Eurosport meanwhile won the rights to 43 Bundesliga games, as well as some relegation matches.

The Bundesliga said total sales of the domestic television rights for the 2017-18 to 2020-21 seasons have reached 4.64 billion euros so far, with the average price per season 85 percent above current contracts.

Two more TV packages in the "highlights" category" have not been awarded yet as bids failed to meet expectations, said Christian Seifert, chief of the DFL or Deutsche Fussball Liga.

Some international broadcast rights, such as for the Chinese market, have also not yet been decided.

"The tender result is an important step towards the future viability of Germany's top football. The Bundesliga now has the conditions to continue to be one of the three strongest football leagues in the world in terms of revenues, and to showcase the sport at the highest level," he said.

Europe's top-flight football leagues have been scrambling to play catch up with the English Premier League which auctioned broadcasting rights for live games for a massive 3.3 billion euros per season.

As the TV bonanza is shared out among clubs, English sides are raking it in, and players are voting with their feet.

Several Bundesliga stars have left for the Premier League over the past year, including Kevin de Bruyne, who moved for a record transfer from Wolfsburg to Manchester City, and German captain Bastian Schweinsteiger who went from Bayern Munich to Manchester United.