Champions League

The Champions League is European club football's premier competition, played since 1955 as the European Cup and rebranded under its current name in 1992. The 2025/26 edition was the 71st season, and it now runs on the 36-team league phase introduced in 2024/25, where every club faces eight different opponents in one combined table before the knockout rounds begin.

Scale is what separates it from the domestic leagues in this collection. The 2025/26 competition drew 8.4 million spectators across 189 matches, and qualifying for it is the financial dividing line in most European leagues, worth enough in prize money and broadcast share to reshape a club's transfer budget for several seasons. It is also the only competition here decided in a single match rather than across 38, which is why one night in late May can define an entire year's work.

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal on penalties in the 2026 final at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest to win their second European title.

For Arena Bulletin, the Champions League is the one competition that pulls readers from every part of our football coverage into the same story.

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