Champions League final: PSG and Arsenal face off for European club soccer's greatest prize

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 in its history.

European club soccer's biggest prize is at stake when the champions of France and England face off at the Puskas Arena in Hungary.

Titleholder PSG can become only the second team in the modern era to retain the trophy after Real Madrid, which won three in a row from 2016-18.

Arsenal, meanwhile, is heading into the game on a high after ending its 22-year wait to lift the Premier League title again. This is only its second time in the final, having lost to Barcelona in 2006.

Here’s what to know about the Champions League final.

Kickoff has been brought forward to 1600 GMT, having traditionally been played in the evening. Governing body UEFA made the change to enhance the matchday experience for fans and to optimize logistics, such as public transport, in Budapest.

American rock band The Killers will be performing. In recent years, Linkin Park and Lenny Kravitz have headlined the pre-match show.

Only Madrid has managed to retain 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.

Despite being one of the most storied teams in England, Arsenal is still to be crowned champion of Europe. Twenty years on from reaching its only final, it is aiming to complete the greatest season in the club's history by winning a Premier League and Champions League double.

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

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.

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 take place at Atletico Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano. It will be 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

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique directs a training session ahead of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Arsenal supporters pose for a photo the day before the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta meets the media ahead of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal, in Budapest, Friday 29, 2026. (Ina Fassbender, Pool Photo via AP)

Arsenal's Declan Rice warms up during a training session ahead of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele meets the media ahead of the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal, in Budapest, Friday 29, 2026. (Franck Fife, Pool Photo via AP)

PARIS (AP) — With two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz absent, Jannik Sinner was expected to capture his first French Open crown this year. Instead, the top-ranked Italian lost in the second round, leaving the men’s draw wide open.

Three-time champion Novak Djokovic was the most experienced contender left in the field, chasing a record 25th major title. But the 39-year-old Serb will have to wait until Wimbledon after losing a five-set thriller to 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca on Friday.

The result may not have been so surprising because Djokovic came into the tournament with questions over his form after losing to a Croatian qualifier at the Italian Open, his only clay-court warmup event after two months out with a right shoulder injury.

Here is a look at some of the favorites still in contention for the title:

He will likely think this is best chance of winning his first major title. The 2024 runner-up to Alcaraz has also advanced to three semifinals and another quarterfinal in Paris. The 29-year-old German is in excellent form after reaching the final in Madrid and the semifinals in Monte Carlo and Munich. The second-seeded Zverev advanced to the fourth round with a four-set win late Friday over Frenchman Quentin Halys.

At No. 4, the Canadian is the highest seed left in the top half of the draw and will take on Brandon Nakashima in the third round. Auger-Aliassime was two points away from defeat in the first round before rallying past Daniel Altmaier in five sets. He then got past Roman Andres Burruchaga in four sets. Auger-Aliassime’s best result at Roland Garros was the fourth round in 2022 and 2024.

He is the latest tennis sensation from Spain. The 19-year-old Jodar is into the fourth round at a major for the first time after his five-set win over Alex Michelsen. Jodar claimed his first ATP title in Marrakech last month then made it to the semifinals in Barcelona and the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome. His tour-level record on clay is 18-3. By comparison, 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz both went 13-7 through their first 20 tour-level matches on clay.

Can the French teenager create a major surprise and emulate Yannick Noah, the last Frenchman to win at Roland Garros in 1983? Kouame reached the third round after a five-set, five-hour thriller that delighted the French crowd. The No. 318-ranked player next faces Chilean Alejandro Tabilo. Kouame beat Marin Cilic in straight sets in the first round, becoming the first man born in 2008 or later to win a Grand Slam match.

Ruud lost the 2022 final to Nadal and the 2023 final to Djokovic. The Norwegian has struggled in the Paris heat this week and needed five sets to prevail in the first round. Ruud also recovered from the loss of the opening two sets against Tommy Paul to reach the the fourth round.

He has to be added to the list after a brilliant comeback win against arguably the best men’s player of all time. Fonseca became the first teenager to defeat the Serbian at a Grand Slam event. He is into the fourth round at a major for the first time.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Joao Fonseca of Brazil reacts as he plays against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their third round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada celebrates after winning the second round men's singles tennis match against Roman Andres Burruchaga of Argentina at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Moise Kouame of France reacts as he plays against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay during their second round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

Alexander Zverev of Germany returns to Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic during their second round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning against Valentin Royer of France during their second round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)