The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League is now underway for 36 teams.
The highly anticipated draw was held Thursday in what marks the second year of the new league phase, where the previous six-game group stage format has been shifted to eight games all against different teams.
Defending their first ever title — as well as becoming the first French team to win it — is Paris Saint-Germain. But it won’t be an easy task to repeat, as Les Bleus will endure the toughest run of any team in the league phase.
In England, a record six Premier League teams will compete, as five teams qualified through the new UEFA coefficient while Tottenham broke through via the Europa League despite finishing 17th on the table.
On the fresh side of things, teams in Norway, Cyprus and Kazakhstan qualified, but traveling to certain games won’t be straightforward.
Here’s a breakdown of the key moments from the draw:
Reigning champs Paris Saint-Germain dealt blow
PSG claimed its first ever UCL title in a 5-0 rout of Italy’s Inter last season. But repeating is not going to be easy. Before the knockout rounds, here’s who the French side drew:
- Home: Bayern Munich, Atalanta, Tottenham, Newcastle
- Away: Barcelona, Leverkusen, Sporting CP, Athletic Club
On the bright side, PSG could be battle-tested should they secure a good spot in the knockouts. Luis Enrique can also rotate his team more often with Ligue 1 sides not being as strong. But the club cannot afford many slip ups with the weakest side arguably being Sporting, last season’s league champion in Portugal.
Reunions are common
The draw is now done by a computer, but fans noticed the many convenient reunions that will transpire.
New Napoli star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will return to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City. New Real Madrid star right back Trent Alexander-Arnold will return to Anfield to meet Liverpool. Whereas De Bruyne left on good terms, Liverpool likely won’t be as kind to their former academy product.
When PSG heads to Spain to face Barcelona, Ballon d’Or candidate Ousmane Dembele will go against his former team. He didn’t have the best reputation there given his injury spells, so it’ll be interesting to see how he’s received.
Then when Real Madrid hosts Manchester City once again, manager Pep Guardiola will return to a hostile environment following his managerial days at Barcelona.
Moving to London, when Arsenal hosts Bayern at the Emirates Stadium, former Crystal Palace breakout stars Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise will reunite for the first time since their marquee moves.
Here are five things to know about Belgian soccer star Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City.
Long flights
With Kazakhstan side Kairat Almaty qualifying for the UCL, four teams will have to make brutal away trips in the midst of an already grueling season. Almaty isn’t expected to advance beyond the knockouts, so teams may not send their stars.
Almaty is set to host Real Madrid, the greatest UCL team ever, among others. That’s a game Madrid can win without stars like Kylian Mbappe, with the flight expected to be between 10-12 hours for just one way. Madrid traveling 3,984 miles to essentially the Asian border is the longest UCL trip a team has to make out east.
On the other side, Almaty will have to travel to Lisbon, Portugal, among others, when it meets Sporting. That’ll be even further than Madrid’s journey.
But it’ll make for some memorable days for both the fans and players of the teams and traveling away fans, which is what the game is all about.
Significant prize money
UEFA is set to have $2.88 billion in prize money up for grabs, with the higher-ranked European sides slated for a bigger piece of the pie.
Almaty is guaranteed at least 20 million euros, with more possible depending on winning or drawing games. Teams like Madrid and PSG will earn around 60 million euros guaranteed, with more awarded for advancing to the final 16 and every round thereafter.
The title winner can expect to rake in around 150 million euros.
The full draw, with exact fixtures to be released on Aug. 30, can be viewed here.
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