The Champions League final this year will be between Internazionale and Paris Saint-Germain, and that’s quite remarkable. For example, it means that for the first time in a long while, the billion-euro tournament will not have a winner from England, Spain, or Germany.
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The stage is set for a truly historic showdown in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final. On Saturday, May 31st, at 21:00, Internazionale will face Paris Saint-Germain in a clash that guarantees a new chapter in European football history.
Regardless of who lifts the trophy, this year’s edition will mark a rare and remarkable shift in the balance of power across the continent. For the first time in fifteen years, the Champions League will crown a winner that does not represent the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, or German Bundesliga three leagues that have monopolized the competition since 2010.
Over the past fourteen seasons, a small group of elite clubs from these three nations have dominated Europe’s top club competition. Real Madrid, with five titles in that span, alongside Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Barcelona, have kept the coveted silverware locked within their borders. These teams, often armed with vast financial resources and global fanbases, have built squads of extraordinary depth and quality, making it incredibly difficult for outsiders to break through. The dominance has been so complete that for an entire generation of fans, Champions League glory has felt like a prize reserved for only a few chosen clubs from the same familiar countries.
That long-standing order is about to be disrupted. In 2025, Europe’s most prestigious trophy will return to either Italy or France two footballing nations with rich traditions and immense passion but who, in recent years, have fallen short on the continental stage. The last club to break the Anglo-Hispano-German hegemony was Internazionale themselves. Back in 2010, under the guidance of José Mourinho and powered by stars like Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito, and Javier Zanetti, the Nerazzurri captured the title in Madrid, defeating Bayern Munich and completing a historic treble. That triumph was the pinnacle of a golden era for Italian football, but also the beginning of a long wait for Serie A to reassert itself at the top of Europe.
If the wait has been frustrating for Inter supporters, fans of Paris Saint-Germain have endured an even longer journey. Despite being a domestic powerhouse for over a decade, thanks largely to the financial backing of Qatar Sports Investments, PSG have never managed to win the Champions League. Their closest attempt came in 2020, when they reached the final but lost narrowly to Bayern Munich. For French football, the last taste of continental success came over three decades ago, when Olympique Marseille lifted the trophy in 1993. No French team has won it since, and PSG despite assembling squads filled with global superstars like Zlatan Ibrahimović, Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi over the years have repeatedly fallen short of the ultimate goal.
Now, that drought is guaranteed to end for one of these two nations. Inter Milan, chasing a return to glory fifteen years after their last European triumph, will hope to draw upon their legacy and tactical discipline. PSG, desperate to finally complete their long quest and justify years of investment, will be under immense pressure to deliver. The match promises to be not just a footballing spectacle, but a symbolic turning point proof that Europe’s elite competition is still open to clubs from beyond the trio of dominant leagues, even in an era where financial disparity continues to grow.
As the final whistle approaches on May 31st, fans around the world will witness more than just a game. They will see the end of a long Champions League drought for either Italy or France. For Inter, it would be a return to their rightful place among Europe’s elite. For PSG, it would be the fulfillment of a dream that has eluded them for decades. One thing is already certain: the 2024/25 Champions League final will be remembered as the night a new champion rose, and history was rewritten.
This rare break from tradition becomes even more striking when we look back at the winners of the Champions League over the last fifteen seasons. In 2009/10, it was Internazionale who triumphed. Since then, the trophy has passed through the hands of only a few clubs from three powerful leagues: Barcelona in 2011 and 2015, Chelsea in 2012 and 2021, Bayern Munich in 2013 and 2020, Liverpool in 2019, Manchester City in 2023, and Real Madrid, who have lifted the cup in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, and most recently in 2024. That’s a sequence that perfectly illustrates just how tight the grip of England, Spain, and Germany has been on the competition.
But this season is different. On May 31st, the Champions League will welcome a new winner to its prestigious list either the long-awaited return of Italian glory or a historic first for French football’s most ambitious club. Football fans everywhere should mark the date, because no matter the outcome, it will be a final for the ages.
