Chase for European glory starts again
Elite clubs, boosted by big-name signings, set to kick off Champions League this week
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LONDON • After a summer of eye-catching moves across Europe, the continent's top clubs begin the long road to Champions League glory this week as fans return after matches were held largely behind closed doors last season.
A flurry of transfer activity, headlined by Lionel Messi ending his long association with Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Manchester United, guarantees plenty of fresh intrigue.
The opening round of group-stage fixtures does not disappoint either, with Barca taking on Bayern Munich for the first time since a humiliating 8-2 defeat in the quarter-finals two campaigns ago.
Liverpool and AC Milan, clubs with a combined 13 European Cups between them, square off at Anfield in just their third competitive meeting - after the 2005 "Miracle of Istanbul" and Milan's revenge in the 2007 final.
European champions Chelsea bolstered their squad by re-signing Romelu Lukaku, who was prised away from the cost-cutting Italian champions Inter Milan.
That deal was indicative of Premier League clubs again exerting their financial power over the rest of Europe, topping £1 billion (S$1.85 billion) in spending for the sixth straight summer despite a dip in revenues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chelsea and last season's runners-up Manchester City will be among the favourites to go all the way, but 2020 finalists Paris Saint-Germain added Messi with the specific aim of getting their hands on the Champions League trophy for the first time.
"I have said many times my dream is to win another Champions League and I think I'm in the ideal place to have that chance to do it," said the Argentinian six-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Rested at the weekend after a long trip back from a World Cup qualifier in Bolivia, he could finally make his first start against Belgian champions Club Brugge, who will be viewed as makeweights in a group that also features City and RB Leipzig.
Ronaldo's last match in his first spell at Old Trafford was the 2009 Champions League final loss to Barca, the second of three finals the club reached in the space of four years.
Since Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, only twice have United reached the last eight.
They last won the European Cup in 2008 but the return of their Portuguese talisman - the competition's record scorer with 134 goals - has given everyone at the club a boost ahead of tomorrow's opener at Switzerland's Young Boys.
"We have a fantastic team, a young team, with a fantastic coach but we have to build up confidence," said Ronaldo after his double in the 4-1 win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday.
"The team needs to be mature if we want to win the Premier League and the Champions League but we are in a good way and I am here to help the team.
"When I started the (Newcastle) game, I was super nervous when the fans were singing my name, but this crowd is unbelievable."
Ronald Koeman's Barca embark on a first Champions League campaign since the departure of Messi, with whom they last lifted the trophy in 2015.
Not much are expected of the Catalans beyond getting to the knockout phase, but the Dutchman hopes the La Liga giants can still be a tough side to play against.
"Despite losing the world's best player in Leo, players being out with injuries, or the financial issues, you simply have to get on with it," Koeman said.
"I turn it into a challenge, which motivates me even more."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
