The 2025–26 Champions League has been bubbling away in the background since the start of July, when the first round of qualifying matches got underway.
53 teams have been involved in the process overall—42 of them entering via the Champions Path and 11 teams via the League Path—with seven places up for grabs in the Champions League league phase (29 had already qualified).
Following the conclusion of Wednesday’s action—which saw Benfica, Qarabağ and Club Brugge emerge victorious in ties against Fenerbahçe, Ferencváros and Rangers respectively—we now know the identity of the 36 teams who will look to follow in the footsteps of Paris Saint-Germain’s maiden triumph, delivered with a thumping 5–0 win over Inter Milan in Munich back in May.
The draw for the competition proper was conducted in Monaco on Thursday afternoon, featuring legends Zlatan Ibrahimović and Kaká. It has thrown together some huge fixtures involving Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester City, while also conjuring up other exciting ties involving European heavyweights Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Read below to see how the action unfolded with Sports Illustrated’s live blog.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025–26 Champions League Draw: Real Madrid, Liverpool, PSG Learn Fates.
