You may have to do a double-take, but yes, it’s true: the 2025 UEFA Champions League final is the first in five years and second in the last 12 that features two clubs outside of England and Spain.
Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain will meet in Munich, Germany, on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET to conclude the 2024-25 season on the grandest of stages. Much is at stake for both clubs.
Which country will claim the championship?
It’s been 15 seasons since a team outside of Spain, Germany or England won the Champions League. Inter Milan defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in 2010, but it’s been a difficult 15 years for Italian clubs since.
Juventus lost in the 2015 and 2017 final, while Inter Milan suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the 2023 final.
For France, the drought is even longer. Not since Marseille’s 1993 victory has a French club hoisted the trophy. There haven’t been many opportunities, either. Monaco finished runner-up in 2004, and PSG did so in 2020.
A win for either club snaps a long drought for Europe’s biggest trophy.
Inter Milan can join a select club
With a win, Inter Milan can claim its fourth Champions League title and become one of only seven clubs in Europe to own four titles, joining Real Madrid (15), AC Milan (seven), Bayern Munich (six), Liverpool (six), Barcelona (five) and Ajax (four).
It would also give the club two titles since rivals Milan or Juventus have won their last one.
PSG is looking for a breakthrough
PSG has long sought a Champions League trophy. The club has spent big and signed major names like Lionel Messi and Neymar, but fallen short every year. Its runner-up finish in 2020 is its only other Champions League final appearance.
Only 23 European clubs have won a Champions League title. PSG believes it’s overdue for it to become the 24th.
“I never felt the pressure to win titles,” manager Luis Enrique told UEFA.com. “We were close to reaching the final last year but we were knocked out in the semi-finals. We won the league, French Cup and French Super Cup, which was very good, but the Champions League has been the priority for the club for a long time.”
Is this Simone Inzaghi’s last match in charge of Inter Milan?
Inzaghi has done a fine job in four years as the manager of Inter Milan. So fine that Saudi Arabia club Al-Hilal has reportedly offered him 20 million euros per year to make a move this offseason.
With the Champions League trophy so close, it’s not something Inzaghi is discussing right now.
“After the final, we’ll sit down and talk with a single goal in mind, and this always applies: The good of Inter,” Inzaghi said Monday at the Champions League final media day. “If all the components and conditions are there we will move forward as we have always done in harmony these past few years.
“It would be crazy to talk now about something that doesn’t exist. Look at what awaits us on Saturday.”
Does a win persuade Inzaghi to stay or go? What about a loss? Saturday won’t be the final drama for Inter Milan this season.
