Paris Saint-Germain have been made the bookmakers’ 3/1 favourites to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.
After missing out on the Ligue 1 title to Lille last season the wealthy French club have one of the best summer transfer windows in the history of football.
Euro 2020 Player of the Tournament Gianluigi Donnarumma has arrived from AC Milan, four-time Champions League winner Sergio Ramos left Real Madrid to move to Paris, and Georginio Wijnaldum has joined from Liverpool – the trio all free transfers.
On top of that, Achraf Hakimi has been signed from Internazionale, and most importantly of all, Lionel Messi is expected to arrive from Barcelona in the coming days.
Confirmation of Messi’s arrival would only see PSG’s odds drop further. Manager Mauricio Pochettino already has the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Angel Di Maria, Mauro Icardi, Marquinhos and Marco Verratti to work with.
Manchester City closely follow at 7/2 with the bookmakers to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Pep Guardiola’s side fell short at the final hurdle last season, losing 0-1 to Chelsea in the final. The Premier League champions have been pre-season favourites for this trophy for the past couple of seasons.
So far Jack Grealish has arrived in a £100 million deal from Aston Villa, although Sergio Aguero has yet to be replaced, with less than a week until the start of the 2021-22 Premier League season.
2019-20 winners Bayern Munich are 7/1 third favourites. The German Bundesliga side are expected to win their domestic league comfortably, allowing new head coach Julian Nagelsmann to rest players ahead of key ties in the knockout stages.
The Bavarians have lost David Alaba to Real Madrid this summer, but have signed Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig. They have a wealth of talent throughout their squad, including Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Alphonso Davies, Leroy Sane, Lucas Hernandez, Leon Gortezka and Benjamin Pavard.
Defending champions Chelsea are back at 9/1 fourth faavourites.
The favourites for the 2021-22 Champions League are as follows:
Paris Saint-Germain 3/1
Manchester City 7/2
Bayern Munich 7/1
Chelsea 9/1
Liverpool 10/1
Manchester United 12/1
Real Madrid 16/1
Juventus 20/1
Barcelona 22/1
Atletico Madrid 25/1
Borussia Dortmund 50/1
Internazionale 50/1
AC Milan 66/1
