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2026 UEFA Champions League final

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2026 UEFA Champions League final
Match programme cover
Event2025–26 UEFA Champions League
Paris Saint-Germain Arsenal
French Football Federation The Football Association
1 1
After extra time
Paris Saint-Germain won 4–3 on penalties
Date30 May 2026 (2026-05-30)
VenuePuskás Aréna, Budapest
Man of the MatchVitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)[1]
RefereeDaniel Siebert (Germany)[2]
Attendance61,035[3]
WeatherSunny
24 °C (75 °F)
43% humidity[4]
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 UEFA Champions League final (Hungarian: 2026-ös UEFA Bajnokok Ligája döntő) was the final match of the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League, the 71st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 34th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary,[5] on 30 May 2026 between French club Paris Saint-Germain, the defending champions, and English club Arsenal. This was the first final to include the reigning champions since 2018.

Paris Saint-Germain won the match 4–3 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time, for their second UEFA Champions League title, becoming the second club to win back-to-back titles in the UEFA Champions League era, matching Real Madrid's feat in the 2016–17 edition.[6][7] As winners, Paris Saint-Germain earned the right to play against Aston Villa, the winners of the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League, in the 2026 UEFA Super Cup. They will also compete in the final of the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, and qualified for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.

Background

Paris Saint-Germain reached their third European Cup/Champions League final overall and second consecutively, having lost to Bayern Munich in 2020 before winning the title in 2025. They also became the first team since Liverpool in 2018 and 2019 to reach two consecutive Champions League finals. This was their seventh UEFA competition final overall, having also triumphed in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final and 2025 UEFA Super Cup. They lost the Cup Winners' Cup final in 1997 as holders, as well as losing the 1996 UEFA Super Cup. Paris Saint-Germain was the first French team to appear in three European Cup/Champions League finals, surpassing their rivals Marseille, who lost in 1991 before their victory in 1993, as well as Stade Reims, who lost both the 1956 and 1959 European Cup finals to Real Madrid.

Arsenal reached their second European Cup/Champions League final, having lost to Barcelona in 2006. This was their eighth UEFA competition final overall, having triumphed in the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup final. They lost the Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1980 and 1995—the latter as holders, as well as losing the 1994 European Super Cup, 2000 UEFA Cup final, and 2019 UEFA Europa League final.

Both clubs won their respective leagues and were eliminated from other cup competitions, thus aiming for a continental double. This was the first time since 2020 where both Champions League finalists were champions of their respective domestic leagues. The two teams met in the 2025 semi-finals, with Paris Saint-Germain winning both legs (1–0 at the Emirates Stadium and then 2–1 at the Parc des Princes).

The 2026 final was the fourth European Cup final between sides from two different capital cities after 1962, 1966 and 1971.[8]

The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was predetermined as the winners of semi-final 1 (Paris Saint-Germain). This was the first Champions League final to kick off at 18:00 CEST, three hours earlier than previous editions. UEFA stated that the change was made to "enhance the matchday experience and benefit fans, teams and host cities".[9][10]

Previous finals

In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era and since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era.

Team Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners)
French Football Federation Paris Saint-Germain 2 (2020, 2025)
The Football Association Arsenal 1 (2006)

Venue

The Puskás Aréna in Budapest hosted the final.

Host selection

On 17 May 2023, UEFA opened the bidding process for the final, which was held in parallel with that of the 2027 final. Interested bidders could bid for either one or both of the finals. Additionally, bidding associations could only be appointed one UEFA final in a given year. The proposed venues had to include natural grass and be ranked as a UEFA category four stadium, with a gross capacity of at least 70,000 preferred. The bidding timeline was as follows:[11]

  • 17 May 2023: Applications formally invited
  • 17 July 2023: Closing date for registering intention to bid
  • 26 July 2023: Bid requirements made available to bidders
  • 15 November 2023: Submission of preliminary bid dossier
  • 21 February 2024: Submission of final bid dossier
  • 22 May 2024: Appointment of host

UEFA announced on 18 July 2023 that two associations had expressed interest in hosting the 2026 and 2027 finals during the first bidding process.[12]

Bidding associations for 2026 and 2027 UEFA Champions League finals
Association Stadium City Capacity
 Hungary Puskás Aréna Budapest 67,215
 Italy San Siro Milan 75,817

The Puskás Aréna was selected as the venue by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Dublin, Ireland, on 22 May 2024.[13][5]

Route to the final

Further information: 2025–26 UEFA Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

French Football Federation Paris Saint-Germain Round The Football Association Arsenal
Opponent Result League phase Opponent Result
Italian Football Federation Atalanta 4–0 (H) Matchday 1 Royal Spanish Football Federation Athletic Bilbao 2–0 (A)
Royal Spanish Football Federation Barcelona 2–1 (A) Matchday 2 Hellenic Football Federation Olympiacos 2–0 (H)
German Football Association Bayer Leverkusen 7–2 (A) Matchday 3 Royal Spanish Football Federation Atlético Madrid 4–0 (H)
German Football Association Bayern Munich 1–2 (H) Matchday 4 Football Association of the Czech Republic Slavia Prague 3–0 (A)
The Football Association Tottenham Hotspur 5–3 (H) Matchday 5 German Football Association Bayern Munich 3–1 (H)
Royal Spanish Football Federation Athletic Bilbao 0–0 (A) Matchday 6 Royal Belgian Football Association Club Brugge 3–0 (A)
Portuguese Football Federation Sporting CP 1–2 (A) Matchday 7 Italian Football Federation Inter Milan 3–1 (A)
The Football Association Newcastle United 1–1 (H) Matchday 8 Kazakhstan Football Federation Kairat 3–2 (H)
11th place
Advanced to knockout phase play-offs 		Final position 1st place
Advanced to round of 16
Opponent Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout phase Opponent Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score 1st leg 2nd leg
French Football Federation Monaco 5–4 3–2 (A) 2–2 (H) Play-offs Bye
The Football Association Chelsea 8–2 5–2 (H) 3–0 (A) Round of 16 German Football Association Bayer Leverkusen 3–1 1–1 (A) 2–0 (H)
The Football Association Liverpool 4–0 2–0 (H) 2–0 (A) Quarter-finals Portuguese Football Federation Sporting CP 1–0 1–0 (A) 0–0 (H)
German Football Association Bayern Munich 6–5 5–4 (H) 1–1 (A) Semi-finals Royal Spanish Football Federation Atlético Madrid 2–1 1–1 (A) 1–0 (H)

Opening ceremony

American rock band The Killers (pictured in 2017) were announced to perform at the 2026 UEFA Champions League final's opening ceremony.

On 26 March 2026, American indie rock band The Killers were announced as the performers for the final's Pepsi opening ceremony, and was promoted by a trailer starring Killers frontman Brandon Flowers and football star David Beckham on a short film named The Race Begins.[14]

Match

Summary

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha (left) was named man of the match, while his opponent midfielder Kai Havertz (right) scored the earliest goal of the match.

In the sixth minute of the match, an attempted clearance by PSG defender Marquinhos deflected off Arsenal's Leandro Trossard. The deflected ball fell to Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, who beat the PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov from a tight angle,[quantify] putting Arsenal 1-0 ahead. It was their first shot on target.

Arsenal immediately switched to a defensive formation to protect their lead. PSG had most of the possession for the rest of the game, and Arsenal would not register another shot on target.[citation needed] At the end of the first half, Arsenal were awarded a corner kick, but referee Daniel Siebert deemed that Bukayo Saka took too long to set up and blew the whistle for half time before the corner was taken.[citation needed]

During the second half, in the 61st minute Arsenal's Cristhian Mosquera fouled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia inside the penalty box. The referee awarded PSG a penalty, which was scored by Ousmane Dembélé, tying the score at 1-1. Arsenal maintained their defensive tactics and PSG continued to have over 70% of the possession. In the 77th minute, a shot by Kvaratskhelia was deflected onto the post by Myles Lewis-Skelly. PSG continued to attack in the final minutes, with a shot by Vitinha narrowly missing in the 89th minute, and Bradley Barcola hitting a shot into the side netting in the 96th minute.[original research?] By the end of the second half, PSG had made 18 attempts on goal (four on target), while Arsenal had made four attempts (one on target). With the score still tied, the game went to extra time.

In the first period of extra time, on 102 minutes PSG's Nuno Mendes appeared to foul Noni Madueke in the penalty area. The Arsenal players vociferously claimed a penalty, but the referee awarded a free kick to PSG instead, because it was determined[by whom?] that Madueke had grabbed Mendes' arm.[citation needed] The referee issued yellow cards to Arsenal player Declan Rice and manager Mikel Arteta for their repeated protests. There was no further scoring, so the match proceeded to a penalty shoot-out.

PSG went first in the shoot-out, with Gonçalo Ramos converting his penalty. This was followed by successful attempts from Arsenal's Viktor Gyökeres and PSG's Désiré Doué. The first miss was by Arsenal's Eberechi Eze who shot wide left, which was immediately followed by PSG's Mendes having his penalty saved by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Four successful attempts followed (two for each team) by Rice, Hakimi, Martinelli, and Beraldo. This left PSG 4-3 ahead with only one penalty to come, to be taken by Arsenal's Gabriel. His shot went wide above[clarification needed] the post, giving PSG the victory.[15]

Scorecard

Paris Saint-Germain French Football Federation1–1 (a.e.t.)The Football Association Arsenal
 Report[16]
Penalties
 4–3
Attendance: 61,035[3]
Paris Saint-Germain[4]
Arsenal[4]
GK 39 Russia Matvey Safonov
RB 2 Morocco Achraf Hakimi
CB 5 Brazil Marquinhos (c) downward-facing red arrow 106'
CB 51 Ecuador Willian Pacho
LB 25 Portugal Nuno Mendes Yellow card 118'
RM 87 Portugal João Neves Yellow card 90+6'
CM 17 Portugal Vitinha downward-facing red arrow 106'
LM 8 Spain Fabián Ruiz downward-facing red arrow 95'
RF 14 France Désiré Doué
CF 10 France Ousmane Dembélé downward-facing red arrow 90+6'
LF 7 Georgia (country) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia downward-facing red arrow 83'
Substitutes:
GK 30 France Lucas Chevalier
GK 89 Italy Renato Marin
DF 4 Brazil Lucas Beraldo upward-facing green arrow 106'
DF 6 Ukraine Illia Zabarnyi upward-facing green arrow 106'
DF 21 France Lucas Hernandez
MF 19 South Korea Lee Kang-in
MF 24 France Senny Mayulu
MF 27 Spain Dro Fernández
MF 33 France Warren Zaïre-Emery upward-facing green arrow 95'
FW 9 Portugal Gonçalo Ramos upward-facing green arrow 90+6'
FW 29 France Bradley Barcola upward-facing green arrow 83'
FW 49 Senegal Ibrahim Mbaye
Manager:
Spain Luis Enrique
GK 1 Spain David Raya
RB 3 Spain Cristhian Mosquera Yellow card 47' downward-facing red arrow 66'
CB 2 France William Saliba
CB 6 Brazil Gabriel Magalhães
LB 5 Ecuador Piero Hincapié
CM 41 England Declan Rice Yellow card 103'
CM 49 England Myles Lewis-Skelly downward-facing red arrow 91'
RW 7 England Bukayo Saka Yellow card 54' downward-facing red arrow 83'
AM 8 Norway Martin Ødegaard (c) downward-facing red arrow 67'
LW 19 Belgium Leandro Trossard downward-facing red arrow 83'
CF 29 Germany Kai Havertz downward-facing red arrow 91'
Substitutes:
GK 13 Spain Kepa Arrizabalaga
DF 12 Netherlands Jurriën Timber upward-facing green arrow 66'
DF 33 Italy Riccardo Calafiori
MF 10 England Eberechi Eze upward-facing green arrow 91'
MF 16 Denmark Christian Nørgaard
MF 20 England Noni Madueke upward-facing green arrow 83'
MF 23 Spain Mikel Merino
MF 36 Spain Martín Zubimendi upward-facing green arrow 91'
MF 56 England Max Dowman
FW 9 Brazil Gabriel Jesus
FW 11 Brazil Gabriel Martinelli upward-facing green arrow 83'
FW 14 Sweden Viktor Gyökeres Yellow card 98' upward-facing green arrow 67'
Manager:
Spain Mikel Arteta Yellow card 103'

Man of the Match:
Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain)[1]

Assistant referees:[2]
Jan Seidel (Germany)
Rafael Foltyn (Germany)
Fourth official:[2]
Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)
Reserve assistant referee:[2]
Guadalupe Porras Ayuso (Spain)
Video assistant referee:[2]
Bastian Dankert (Germany)
Assistant video assistant referee:[2]
Robert Schröder (Germany)
Support video assistant referee:[2]
Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)

Match rules[17]

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time
  • Maximum of three substitution opportunities, with a fourth allowed in extra time

Statistics

Aftermath

Clashes and riots

Following PSG's victory, tens of thousands of fans celebrated on the streets of Paris. Violent clashes erupted as the celebrations developed into rioting; there were 283 arrests in Paris and another 133 in the rest of France.[19][20] The French Interior Ministry deployed 22,000 security officers across the country, including 8,000 in the capital. Similar riots had occurred the previous year following PSG's victory in the 2025 final.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Vitinha named official 2026 UEFA Champions League final Player of the Match". UEFA. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Referee teams for 2026 UEFA club competition finals announced". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Full Time Report Final – Paris Saint-Germain v Arsenal" (PDF). UEFA. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "Tactical Line-ups – Final – Saturday 30 May 2026" (PDF). UEFA. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Budapest to host UEFA Champions League Final 2026". Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Paris retain Champions League: Holders edge Arsenal on penalties". UEFA. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  7. ^ "Champions League holders: Paris join Real Madrid as back-to-back winners". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  8. ^ Anand, Anish (7 May 2026). "UCL stats: Kvaratskhelia's record seven-game streak, Dembélé's 16 goal contributions, Arsenal unbeaten in 14". ESPN.
  9. ^ "UEFA Champions League final kick-off moves to 18:00CET as of 2025/26 season". UEFA. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  10. ^ Zelealem, Fasika; Davies, Mathew (6 May 2026). "When is the Champions League final? Location and ticket information". Wales Online. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  11. ^ "Invitation to bid to host the UEFA Champions League Finals 2026 & 2027, UEFA Europa League Finals 2026 & 2027, UEFA Europa Conference League Finals 2026 & 2027 and UEFA Women's Champions League Finals 2026 & 2027". UEFA Circular Letter. No. 24/2023. Union of European Football Associations. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Nine national associations interested in hosting UEFA club competition finals in 2026 and 2027". UEFA. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  13. ^ "UEFA Executive Committee to meet in Dublin". Union of European Football Associations. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  14. ^ "The Killers to headline UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show by Pepsi®". UEFA.com. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  15. ^ "PSG 1-1 Arsenal (May 30, 2026) Game Analysis". www.espn.com. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  16. ^ "Paris Saint-Germain vs Arsenal". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
  17. ^ "Regulations of the UEFA Champions League – 2025/26 Season". UEFA. 27 June 2025. Archived from the original on 11 September 2025. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d "Team statistics" (PDF). UEFA. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  19. ^ "Hundreds arrested in Paris after Champions League final". BBC. 31 May 2026. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  20. ^ "Dozens arrested in Paris clashes on PSG victory night". Le Monde.
  21. ^ "Jubilant PSG supporters spill onto Paris streets, some clashes with police". Reuters.
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