Who will win the UEFA Champions League this season?
Chelsea were the surprise winners of last season’s Champions League. They defeated Manchester City by the minimum of margins in a tactical masterclass of a final.
Only six clubs have ever retained the title (Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Barcelona) and there are not many experts picking the London side to be able to replicate that feat this campaign.
Real Madrid is the most successful side in the tournament’s history, but they have struggled at times this campaign. Meanwhile, their La Liga counterparts, Barcelona, look a shell of their former selves. This is due in no small part to the departure of the genius that is Lionel Messi.
Speaking of Messi, his new club, PSG, are among the sides that will fancy their chances of becoming Europe’s number one side. That being said, the striking triple threat of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe hasn’t yet reached the heights it would have hoped for.
All-in-all, the UEFA Champions League remains as unpredictable as ever. That is why we are going to take a punt and foolhardily attempting to predict who will lift the trophy in Saint Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena on the fateful evening in May of 2022.
Paris Saint Germain
As previously stated, PSG’s star-studded strike force isn’t yet firing on all cylinders. This is a fortunate fact for every other side in European football, as when Messi clicks with Neymar and Mbappe, they may become unstoppable.
At the other end of the pitch, they have Italy’s star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. In the heart of the defence, they have Sergio Ramos, who is a serial winner and Marquinhos, who is one of the world’s most valuable defenders in world football.
All-in-all, it is hard to look past the Paris side. If they do have a weakness, it may be embedding all these star names into the team. Whether that proves to be enough of a problem for other sides to take advantage of, only time will tell. View PSG Champions League tickets
Bayern Munich
It would take a brave person to rule Bayern Munich out of any tournament. They have an excellent group of players and every time they are written off, they bounce back and prove the doubters wrong.
This team are entering ‘last dance’ territory, with Robert Lewandowski still amongst the world’s top goalscorers, while Thomas Müller is also entering the latter stages of his career. The enigmatic German still has the ability to turn up in the right place at the right time to put the ball in the back of the net though.
Along with a resurgent Serge Gnabry, these players represent a difficult side for any team to overcome and they won’t be intimidated by PSG’s group of stars.
The German side are the team that could go all the way in this year’s tournament.
Manchester City
With Pep at the helm, Manchester City is a side that have the management and the team to really compete in this tournament. Last year, they fell just short as Chelsea pipped them to the title.
This year, they will be hoping to go one better. Their lack of a complete number nine may prove troublesome. If they purchase Harry Kane in the January transfer window, it could be a completely different story, but for now they may have to settle for the title of ‘also-rans’ this season.
Others
There are a whole host of other sides, including last season’s winners, Chelsea, who will see themselves as serious contenders in this year’s tournament. For instance, Liverpool won it in recent years and it is hard to rule out any of La Liga’s big three or the contenders from Serie A.
That is the beauty of the Champions League. It is a tournament that always surprises and there are plenty of sides that can legitimately call themselves contenders.
Will you will be in Saint-Petersburg, Russia and have tickets for the Champions League final 2024. Whoever wins the final, millions of fans will be watching around the world to see who can be classed as the best European team of this year.
