BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain is aiming for back-to-back Champions League titles in Saturday’s final in Budapest. Arsenal is trying to win it for the first time.
The champions of France and England face off at Puskas Arena.
Titleholder PSG can become only the second team in the modern era to retain the trophy after Real Madrid won three in a row from 2016-18.
Arsenal, meanwhile, heads into the final on a high after ending its 22-year wait to claim the Premier League. The Gunners’ only previous Champions League final was lost to Barcelona in 2006.
Here’s what to know about the Champions League final.
Time of kickoff
Kickoff has been brought forward to 1600 GMT, having traditionally been played in the evening. UEFA made the change to enhance the matchday experience for fans and to optimize logistics, such as public transport, in Budapest.
Where to watch
The final is being shown live on CBS and Paramount+ in the United States.
In Britain, the match is on pay-TV channel TNT Sports and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — an Arsenal fan — lobbied for it to be free-to-air without success.
Killers are pre-match headliners
American rock band The Killers will perform. In recent years, Linkin Park and Lenny Kravitz have headlined the pre-match show.
PSG on brink of greatness
Only Madrid has retained the European Cup since it was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992.
AC Milan, Ajax, Juventus and Manchester United all lost in the final the year after winning the trophy, so PSG is on the brink of greatness.
New name on trophy?
Despite being one of the most storied teams in England, Arsenal has still to be crowned champion of Europe. Twenty years on from its only previous final, Arsenal aims to complete the greatest season in the club’s history by winning a Premier League-Champions League double.
Most successful coaches
Victory would see Luis Enrique become only the fifth coach to win three or more Champions League or European Cup titles.
5 Carlo Ancelotti
3 Bob Paisley, Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola
About Puskas Arena
The 67,000-seat stadium was opened in 2019 and built on the same site as the previous Ferenc Puskas Stadion — named after the Hungarian and Real Madrid icon who won three European Cups as a player.
Recent winners
2025 PSG
2024 Real Madrid
2023 Manchester City
2022 Real Madrid
2021 Chelsea
Most titles
15 Real Madrid
7 AC Milan
6 Bayern Munich, Liverpool
5 Barcelona
4 Ajax
3 Manchester United, Inter Milan
The 2027 final
The 2027 final will take place at Atletico Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano. It will be the second time it stages the final after the 2019 showdown between Liverpool and Tottenham. The city of Madrid has hosted the final on five previous occasions.
___
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.