Returning to the Champions League after more than 20 years, Newcastle will face PSG, Dortmund and Milan. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will no longer be seen in the legendary competition.
For the last 20 years, in the traditional group draw of the Champions League, it has been determined which teams will get to tease two of the arguably best players in the competition’s history.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 140 goals in 183 Champions League matches and is the competition’s all-time top scorer. With Lionel Messi there are 129 goals in 163 matches.
Now they are out of the crowd. Ronaldo plays in Saudi Arabia in the shirt of Al Nassr, Messi in the North American MLS series in Inter Miami. However, Ronaldo was already out of last season’s Champions League with Manchester United.
At the same time, the last preliminary groups of the current Champions League were drawn in Monaco. Next season, the format will change so that all teams play in the same league-style initial group stage.
Perhaps the most interesting lineup was drawn in the F group. Having qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 21 years, Newcastle will face PSG, Dortmund and AC Milan.
In the other groups, perhaps the biggest meeting of the giants is ahead in the A group between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. The other teams in the group are FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray. In Group C, the giant clubs Napoli and Real Madrid were joined by Braga and Union Berlin, who are playing in the Champions League for the first time.
There will be no Finnish players in this season’s Champions League. The first round of the preliminary group stage will be played on September 19 and 20. The final will be played at London’s Wembley on June 1.
Champions League groups:
Block A: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, FC Copenhagen, Galatasaray
Block B: Sevilla, Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Lens
Block C: Napoli, Real Madrid, Braga, Union Berlin
Block D: Benfica, Inter, Salzburg, Real Sociedad
Block E: Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Celtic
Block F: PSG, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, Newcastle
Block G: Manchester City, Leipzig, Crvena Zvezda, Young Boys
Block H: Barcelona, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Antwerp