PSG Club Chief Sounds Off After Drawing Barcelona in Champions League | OneFootball

The league phase for the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League is all set, with PSG having a challenging draw. Last season, the capital club was able to overcome a slow start. However, this time around, it would be ideal to get off on a good start.

After Thursday’s draw, PSG will face Bayern Munich and Barcelona from the top-seeded pot, while Tottenham, drawn from the third tier, sets up a quick rematch of their tight Super Cup meeting two weeks ago.

The French side also landed two of the toughest opponents among the lower seeds in Newcastle and Athletic Bilbao. Their schedule is completed by Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, and Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon in the 36-team league phase.

PSG president talks about facing Barcelona

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Once the draw was over, PSG club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was asked about facing the Spanish side, who they came close to facing in last season’s Champions League final as Barcelona fell to Inter Milan in the semifinals.

“This is the best club competition in the world,” Al-Khelaifi told Canal Plus (h/t Canal Supporters). “All the top clubs in Europe play in it. It’s always tough, always demanding. But we’ll take it game by game until the end… That’s the match [against Barcelona] everyone is waiting for. It’s a beautiful game between two great clubs. We have a lot of respect for Barcelona, which is a big club. But we are a big club too.”

What’s the mindset as defending champions

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Heading into this season of the Champions League, PSG enter unfamiliar territory. The Parisians are defending champions, so they’ll be the side every club wants to knock off. Nonetheless, Al-Khelaifi noted the mindset he wants the squad to have in this competition.

“Last season is behind us now,” Al-Khelaifi added. “We’re focused on this new season. Of course, it gives us confidence, but confidence without work means nothing. We need to keep working. We want everyone to approach it game by game, that’s the most important thing. Yes, we won last season, but we’ve put that behind us and now our focus is on this season.”