Manchester City have been drawn against Paris Saint-Germain in group stages of the 2021-22 Champions League, setting up a possible showdown between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sources have told ESPN that Man City are closing in on a deal for Ronaldo, while Messi will be embarking on his first Champions League campaign away from Barcelona after joining PSG earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Barcelona will face Bayern Munich in Group E. The two group stage games will be the first time the two sides will meet since the Bayern smashed Barca 8-2 in the semifinals in August 2020.
Manchester United were drawn against Villarreal in Group F in a rematch of last season’s Europa League final, which Unai Emery’s side won on penalties.
AC Milan, the second most successful team in the history of the competition with seven wins, return to the Champions League for the first time since 2014 and are in Pot B alongside Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and FC Porto.
This season’s final will take place at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia on May 28.
Chelsea midfielder Jorginho won the best male player of the year award ahead of teammate N’Golo Kante and Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne. Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas beat out teammates Jennifer Hermoso and Lieke Martens to win the women’s award.
Awards for the best male and female players of the year will be handed out at the draw, as well as the UEFA President’s Award to the Denmark medical team and captain Simon Kjaer who helped save the life of midfielder Christian Eriksen at Euro 2020.
GROUP A: Manchester City (England), Paris Saint-Germain (France), RB Leipzig (Germany), Club Brugge (Belgium).
GROUP B: Atletico Madrid (Spain), Liverpool (England), FC Porto (Portugal), AC Milan (Italy).
GROUP C: Sporting CP (Portugal), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Ajax (Netherlands), Besiktas (Turkey).
GROUP D: Inter Milan (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Shakhtar Dontesk (Ukraine), FC Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova).
GROUP E: Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Benfica (Portugal), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine).
GROUP F: Villarreal (Spain), Manchester United (England), Atalanta (Italy), Young Boys (Switzerland).
GROUP G: Lille (France), Sevilla (Spain), FC Salzburg (Austria), Wolfsburg (Germany).
GROUP H: Chelsea (England), Juventus (Italy), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Malmo (Sweden).
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