MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Arsenal became the first team to book its place in the 2026 Champions League final by beating Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich will join the Premier League club in the showpiece at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary this month.
Defending champion PSG leads Bayern 5-4 after a thrilling first leg in Paris. The second leg is on Wednesday in Munich.
Here's what to know about the Champions League final.
This year's final will be staged in Budapest on May 30. Kick off time has been brought forward to 1800 CET, having traditionally been played 2100 CET. Governing body UEFA said the decision for an earlier kick off was to enhance the matchday experience for fans and to optimize logistics such as public transport.
Rock band the Killers will be performing on the night. In recent years Linkin Park and Lenny Kravitz have headlined.
Arsenal is in the final for the first time since 2006. It is only its second time in the final and it has never won European club soccer's top competition, having lost to Barcelona in 2006.
Mikel Arteta's team was beaten in last year's semifinals by eventual champion PSG.
PSG is aiming to become only the second team to win back-to-back Champions League titles, having lifted the trophy for the first time last year.
Since the tournament was rebranded as the Champions League in the 1992-93 campaign only Real Madrid has retained the title, winning three times in succession from 2016-18.
Bayern has won the Champions League or European Cup on six occasions — most recently in 2020. Victory this year would see it equal AC Milan's total of seven titles to make the German giant the joint second most successful team in the competition's history behind Madrid, which is a 15-time winner.
The 67,000-seater 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.
2025 PSG
2024 Real Madrid
2023 Manchester City
2022 Real Madrid
2021 Chelsea
15 Real Madrid
7 AC Milan
6 Bayern Munich, Liverpool
5 Barcelona
4 Ajax
3 Manchester United, Inter Milan
The 2027 final will be staged at Atletico Madrid's stadium the Estadio Metropolitano. It is the second time it has held the final, having staged 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
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Champions League semifinal, second leg, soccer match between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid in London, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Arsenal supporters celebrate at the the end of a Champions League semifinal, second leg, soccer match between Arsenal FC and Atletico Madrid in London, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Referee Danny Makkelie holds the match ball during a Champions League semifinal, first leg, soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Arsenal in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
LONDON & NEW YORK & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2026--
Options Technology, the leading managed IT services and technology solutions provider, today announced Larry Leibowitz to Chairman of its Board. Leibowitz, who joined the Board in June 2023 as an independent director, assumes the Chairmanship as Options continues to accelerate its growth across key financial centres worldwide.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506172571/en/
With more than three decades of leadership experience across exchanges, trading technology, and financial infrastructure, Leibowitz brings unparalleled strategic vision to the Chairman role. He has held executive and board positions across capital markets, financial technology, and asset management, including serving as Chief Operating Officer, Head of Global Equities Markets, and Member of the Board of Directors of NYSE Euronext from 2007 to 2013. He has also held senior positions at UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse First Boston, and is currently CEO of Entrypoint Capital, a quantitative investment management firm.
Since joining the Options Board, Leibowitz has played a key role in shaping the company's strategic direction, contributing deep expertise in market structure, trading infrastructure, and the evolving demands of global financial services clients.
Danny Moore, President and CEO of Options Technology, commented: "Since joining our Board, Larry has been an exceptional strategic partner, offering guidance that has directly shaped our product development and global expansion. Elevating him to Chairman is a natural progression; his grasp of where financial services technology is heading, combined with his relationships and credibility across the industry, positions Options for the next phase of our growth. We are fortunate to have him in this role."
Larry Leibowitz commented: "Options has continued to demonstrate why it is the infrastructure partner of choice for the world's leading firms. I'm proud of what the team has built and delighted to take on this expanded role. The opportunity ahead, particularly in managed services, cybersecurity, and AI-driven market data, is significant, and I look forward to working even more closely with Danny and the leadership team to capture it."
The appointment reflects Options' commitment to strengthening its governance and advisory infrastructure as it serves over 550 firms globally from offices in New York, London, Toronto, Chicago, Belfast, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Auckland.
Today's news comes as the latest in a series of major milestones at Options, including the acquisition of Crossvale, expanding its private cloud and AI modernization capabilities, the enhancement of its APAC connectivity with direct access to the Japan Alternative Market (JAX) via AtlasFabric, and the announcement of major enhancements to AtlasVision, its state-of-the-art monitoring and alerting tool.
Options Technology:
Options Technology (Options) is a financial technology company at the forefront of banking and trading infrastructure. We serve clients globally with offices in New York, London, Paris, Belfast, Cambridge, Chicago, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai, Sydney and Auckland. At Options, our services are woven into the hottest trends in global technology, including high-performance Networking, Cloud, Security, and AI (Artificial Intelligence).
www.options-it.com
Options Technology Appoints Larry Leibowitz as Chairman of The Board
