The 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League final will be between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest, Hungary.
While PSG will be hoping to retain the title, Arsenal are targeting a first-ever Champions League triumph.
Arsenal faced Barcelona in the 2005/2006 Champions League final on 17 May 2006 at the Stade de France and lost 2-1.
Arsenal took the lead through Sol Campbell despite having goalkeeper Jens Lehmann sent off in the 18th minute. Manuel Almunia came on as Arsenal’s substitute goalkeeper.
To make the change, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger sacrificed midfielder Robert Pires, who was substituted off shortly after Lehmann’s red card.
Barcelona later came back with goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti to win the trophy.
Although PSG are favourites heading into this season’s final, Arsenal can take inspiration from clubs who did not become Champions League winners until their second appearance in the final.
Ahead of the much-anticipated clash, Completesports.com’s James Agberebi recalls seven clubs who won the Champions League final at the second attempt.
AC MILAN
Serie A giants AC Milan’s first appearance in the UEFA Champions League final (known back then as the European Cup) was in the 1957-1958 season, which they lost 3-2 to Real Madrid.
Milan then made it to the final of the Champions League for the second time in the 1962-1963 season, where they beat defending champions Benfica 2-1.
The victory against Benfica saw Milan become the first-ever Italian club to be crowned Champions League winners.
The Rossoneri have gone on to win the Champions League title six more times (1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007), making them the second-most successful side — after Real Madrid with 15 titles — in the history of the competition.
AJAX
The first Dutch club to make it to the final of the Champions League was Ajax Amsterdam in the 1968-1969 campaign.
But it was a final to forget for Ajax as they were hammered 4-1 by AC Milan, who secured their second title.
The following season (1969-1970), another Dutch club, Feyenoord, got to the final and beat Celtic 2-1 to become the first-ever Eredivisie side to win the Champions League title.
Ajax made a second appearance in the final in the 1970-1971 season, and this time emerged European champions for the first time in their history thanks to a 2-0 win against Greek club Panathinaikos.
The next two seasons (1971-1972 and 1972-1973) saw Ajax win the Champions League title again before adding a fourth title in the 1994-1995 season.
HAMBURGER SV
German club Hamburger SV first got to the Champions League final in the 1979-1980 season, where they faced Nottingham Forest.
Forest were the defending champions of the competition after they secured their first title the previous season with a 1-0 win against Swedish side Malmo FF.
After 90 minutes of football, Forest once again emerged Champions League winners following a hard-fought 1-0 win against Hamburger SV.
The 1982-1983 season saw Hamburger make it to the final for a second time. The German side faced Juventus, who were also making a second appearance in the final.
Hamburger eventually got their hands on the trophy after battling to a 1-0 win against the Old Lady.
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MARSEILLE
After Saint-Etienne got to the final of the Champions League in 1976, it was not until 1991 that another French club, Marseille, reached the final.
But it was heartbreak for Marseille as they lost to Red Star Belgrade of the former Yugoslavia.
Regulation time and extra time finished 0-0 before the tie was decided via penalties, with Red Star Belgrade winning 5-3.
But in the 1992-1993 campaign, Marseille made history as the first-ever French club to win the Champions League, thanks to a 1-0 win against AC Milan.
CHELSEA
Chelsea finally reached the final of the Champions League in the 2007-2008 season after getting eliminated in the semi-finals in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
In the final, Chelsea faced Premier League rivals Manchester United. But it was heartbreak for the Blues, as they lost 6-5 in a penalty shootout after 90 minutes and extra time ended 1-1.
Chelsea were back in the final in the 2011-2012 campaign, where they faced Bayern Munich inside the Allianz Arena, the home ground of the Bundesliga giants.
A late Didier Drogba header in the second half forced the game into extra time and penalties, which Chelsea won 4-3.
PSG
Parading stars like Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) made their first Champions League final appearance in 2020.
The Parisiens were up against Bayern Munich, who had ruthlessly dispatched Barcelona 8-2 in the semi-finals.
Following a tight contest, Bayern Munich came out on top with a 1-0 win thanks to a Kingsley Coman second-half strike.
PSG were back in the final for a second time in 2025 and, for them to land a first Champions League title, they had to overcome three-time winners Inter Milan.
It turned out to be a one-sided affair as PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 to become the second French club to win the Champions League title.
MANCHESTER CITY
After many failed attempts, Manchester City reached the Champions League final for the first time in the 2020-2021 season.
Standing in their way of a first-ever Champions League title win were former winners Chelsea.
Despite going into the tie as favourites, it was Chelsea who triumphed 1-0 courtesy of a Kai Havertz first-half goal.
City were back in the final in 2023 and once again faced another former champion, Inter Milan.
But it was second time lucky for City as they pipped Inter Milan 1-0 following a second-half goal by Rodri.
