THE UEFA Champions League final, refreshingly, doesn’t have Real Madrid, Liverpool or Manchester City involved this year. There may be a new winner crowned in Munich’s Allianz Arena, or it may be a name from the competition’s grand old past merely becoming reacquainted with the trophy.
If it happens to be Paris Saint-Germain, of course, it will be credited to the wealth of Qatar, but if Inter secure their fourth title, it will be a shot in the arm for Italy’s Serie A. Whichever way it goes, it is an intriguing clash of new money versus old and France versus Italy for only the second time in the final. PSG, inevitably, won the lot at home this season, Inter were only deprived of the scudetto by the narrowest of margins.
This is a different PSG to the one that rather ostentatiously loaded itself with ego and hubris. The squad is younger, more forward-looking and packed with potential. After laying the seeds to join the elite by signing the likes of Zlatan and Thiago, they have matured out of their pools-winner phase of greedily grabbing statement acquisitions, a period that brought headlines but not the prize they truly coveted. The new PSG is slick, a team in the true sense of the word and exciting to watch. It has, to some extent, made them more popular, even though the starting line-up in Munich is likely to have cost almost € 500 million. In the past four seasons, PSG have spent over € 900 million in the transfer market and recouped more than € 400 million. Their squad is valued at over € 1 billion.
**Munich finals**
**Year**
**Stadium**
**Final**
**Score**
**Att.**
1979
Olympicstadion
Nottingham Forest v Malmö
1-0
57,500
1993
Olympicstadion
Marseille v AC Milan
1-0
64,400
1997
Olympicstadion
Borussia Dortmund v Juventus
3-1
59,000
2012
Allianz Arena
Chelsea v Bayern Munich
1-1 \*
62,500
\*Chelsea won on penalties
Something has changed in how PSG are perceived at home and abroad. Luis Enrique was hired in 2023 and was arguably of a slightly lower profile than some of the names who have passed through PSG’s revolving door in the past 14 years. But where his appointment may differ from his predecessors is that he has been given more room to manoeuvre in signing players. Enrique has also made PSG more tactically astute and the introduction of young Frenchmen like Désiré Doué, Senny Mayulu and Bradley Barcola have made PSG feel more French. Pundits believe that, possibly for the first time, the local media and the Paris public actually want PSG to win the Champions League.
It is in Europe where PSG will be judged, largely because Ligue 1 is so far behind the Premier, La Liga and Bundesliga. The belief that Ligue 1 is a one-horse-race may be why it has been difficult to attract really decent media rights deals, even if PSG have been the all-stars in recent years. If they win the Champions League, it should also be a win for France and with more locals in the squad, that will feel a more authentic claim.
**Winners of the European Cup/Champions League**
**Winner**
**Club**
**First win**
**Total wins**
1
Real Madrid
1956
15
2
Benfica
1961
2
3
AC Milan
1963
7
4
Inter Milan
1964
3
5
Celtic
1967
1
6
Manchester United
1968
3
7
Feyenoord
1970
1
8
Ajax
1971
4
9
Bayern Munich
1974
6
10
Liverpool
1977
6
11
Nottingham Forest
1979
2
12
Aston Villa
1982
1
13
Hamburg
1983
1
14
Juventus
1985
1
15
Steaua Bucharest
1986
1
16
Porto
1987
2
17
PSV Eindhoven
1988
1
18
Red Star Belgrade
1991
1
19
Barcelona
1992
5
20
Olympique Marseille
1993
1
21
Borussia Dortmund
1997
1
22
Chelsea
2012
2
23
Manchester City
2023
1
But Inter Milan are not likely to allow that to happen very easily. One look at their scorecard for this season’s competition – Manchester City, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Barcelona have all failed to beat them – underlines Inter’s credentials, even if they have players for whom this final could be their last chance of success. The Inter squad is packed with experience and most know what it is like to play in a Champions League final. They have very decent forwards in Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram, but players like Yann Sommer, Francesco Acerbi and Henrik Mkhitaryan are in their late 30s.
There is an underlying feeling that this current Inter side is at the end of a cycle; the rumour mill suggests Simone Inzaghi may be leaving in the summer for either the Premier League or Saudi Arabia, and with so many players reaching the back-end of their career, some team reconstruction will soon be needed. The club is now owned by Oaktree Capital and they have been successful in bringing down losses – the previous owners presided over a time of surging revenues and costs to match – while keeping Inter competitive on the field. With another Champions League final, the club will surely have more money to spend to rebuild their team. They have already stated that future signings will be younger and potential-rich.
**Winners’ Countries**
**Country**
**Clubs**
**Total wins**
England
6
15
Germany
3
8
Italy
3
12
Netherlands
3
6
Portugal
2
4
Spain
2
20
France
1
1
Romania
1
1
Scotland
1
1
Yugoslavia/Serbia
1
1
Inter showed in the semi-final against Barcelona that they have character and energy and although PSG’s youngsters might try and run them off the pitch, they have tactical nous that revolves around the classic Italian characteristics of a solid defence coupled with swift counter-attacks.
While this is certainly an interesting Champions league final, it is also a massive opportunity for both clubs: Real Madrid have declined a little, Barca are not yet ready to claim the crown, Manchester City had a poor year by their lofty standards and Bayern are not quite the team of old. The way has been made clear for PSG and Inter, but next season it will undoubtedly be different.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)