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Two-time defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were handed meetings with Barcelona, Manchester City and Aston Villa among their eight matches in the league phase of this season’s Champions League, as the draw took place on Thursday.

PSG, who beat Arsenal on penalties in Budapest in May to retain the trophy, will play Barcelona, Roma, Turkish champions Galatasaray and Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia at home.

Luis Enrique’s team will travel to England twice to face City and Villa. They beat both teams on the way to winning their first Champions League title in 2025 and also defeated the latter in the UEFA Super Cup in Austria earlier this month.

The French champions will also go to Spain to play Villarreal and Italy to take on a Como side coached by Cesc Fabregas.

“I can’t say anything bad about the Champions League, but I won’t be watching the draw. I will be relaxing and going out on my bike, then we’ll take a look at the menu. But I would sign up for the same result as in the last two years,” Luis Enrique told reporters earlier Thursday.

PSG are aiming to become European champions for a third straight year, something only the Real Madrid of 2016 to 2018 have achieved in the last 50 years.

The first matches in this season’s league phase will be played between Tuesday, September 8, and Thursday, September 10, with the final games in late January. UEFA is expected to announce the full fixture schedule on Saturday.

Last season’s runners-up Arsenal, the Premier League champions, will notably host Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Lille as well as Sabah, the club from Azerbaijan who came through four two-legged qualifying ties to reach the league phase for the first time.

The Gunners have a tough list of away ties against Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague.

Fenerbahce back, Viking in

Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool will be at home to Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Lens, while playing Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and Austrian league phase debutants LASK away.

Manchester United, who were not in the first pot of seeds, have home games against Bayern, Roma, RB Leipzig and Sabah and also a series of difficult away fixtures against Atletico, Sporting of Portugal, Villarreal and Como.

Other notable games include Manchester City visiting Barcelona and Real Madrid entertaining Inter, while last season’s Europa League winners Villa must go to Barcelona and play Dortmund at home. Unai Emery’s team will also tackle Istanbul giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.

The latter are appearing in the Champions League proper for the first time since 2008/09 after beating Lyon in the play-offs this week.

New names in this season’s competition are Como, who have upset the traditional order in Serie A, and Sabah, while LASK made it to this stage for the first time after a stunning comeback win over Celtic in the play-offs.

Last year’s Norwegian champions Viking, from the city of Stavanger, have reached the Champions League proper for the first time too, and they have a glamorous fixture schedule that includes Bayern, Atletico, Villa and Napoli.

This is the third season since the introduction of the new format for the Champions League, with 36 teams now all pooled together in one giant league and each playing games against eight different opponents.

This season’s final will be played at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5, 2027.

Key UEFA Champions League fixtures

Fixtures for leading clubs in the league phase of this season’s UEFA Champions League, following Thursday’s draw:

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (FRA)

Barcelona (h), Manchester City (a), Roma (h), Aston Villa (a), Galatasaray (h), Villarreal (a), Slovan Bratislava (h), Como (a)

BAYERN MUNICH (GER)

Arsenal (h), Atletico Madrid (a), Real Betis (h), Manchester United (a), Bodo/Glimt (h), Lille (a), Slavia Prague (h), Viking (a)

REAL MADRID (ESP)

Inter Milan (h), Arsenal (a), PSV Eindhoven (h), Roma (a), RB Leipzig (h), Shakhtar Donetsk (a), LASK (h), AEK Athens (a)

LIVERPOOL (ENG)

Atletico Madrid (h), Inter Milan (a), Porto (h), Club Brugge (a), Villarreal (h), Fenerbahce (a), Lens (h), LASK (a)

INTER MILAN (ITA)

Liverpool (h), Real Madrid (a), Club Brugge (h), Borussia Dortmund (a), Shakhtar Donetsk (h), Feyenoord (a), VfB Stuttgart (h), Slovan Bratislava (a)

MANCHESTER CITY (ENG)

Paris Saint-Germain (h), Barcelona (a), Sporting (h), Porto (a), Napoli (h), RB Leipzig (a), AEK Athens (h), Lens (a)

ARSENAL (ENG)

Real Madrid (h), Bayern Munich (a), Borussia Dortmund (h), Real Betis (a), Lille (h), Napoli (a), Sabah (h), Slavia Prague (a)

BARCELONA (ESP)

Manchester City (h), Paris Saint-Germain (a), Aston Villa (h), Sporting (a), Feyenoord (h), Galatasaray (a), Como (h), Sabah (a)

ATLETICO MADRID (ESP)

Bayern Munich (h), Liverpool (a), Manchester United (h), PSV Eindhoven (a), Fenerbahçe (h), Bodo/Glimt (a), Viking (h), VfB Stuttgart (a)

BORUSSIA DORTMUND (GER)

Inter Milan (h), Arsenal (a), Real Betis (h), Aston Villa (a), Villarreal (h), Bodo/Glimt (a), AEK Athens (h), Sabah (a)

ASTON VILLA (ENG)

Paris Saint-Germain (h), Barcelona (a), Borussia Dortmund (h), Club Brugge (a), Fenerbahçe (h), Galatasaray (a), Viking (h), Slavia Prague (a)

MANCHESTER UNITED (ENG)

Bayern Munich (h), Atletico Madrid (a), Roma (h), Sporting (a), RB Leipzig (h), Villarreal (a), Sabah (h), Como (a)

AFP

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Finally, the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, has announced his resignation from office.

He made the announcement during a press conference at the NFF Glass House in Abuja on Thursday.

Addressing the press, Gusau said he decided to step aside to give other Nigerians the opportunity to contribute to the development of football in the country.

He maintained that despite the failure of the federation’s men’s and women’s teams to qualify for the World Cups, he was leaving the NFF in a better position than he found it.

Gusau also disclosed that he had advised members of his board to resign, but said he was not aware of any board member who had so far stepped down.

“I just want to tell you that I decided to resign my position as the NFF President. I informed my board members and advised them that anybody who wants to follow me to also resign, but as I am talking to you I cannot tell you who and who or how many board members that have resigned,” he said.

Gusau said he would continue to contribute to the development of football in Nigeria, pledging to make his experience and connections within African football available whenever the country needs them.

“By the grace of God I hope I can continue to give my contributions because the experience and relationship we have within the African football, we will never allow it to go in vain. Whenever we need to give our contributions we will come here and give our contributions for the progress of the Nigerian people.”

Earlier in the day, the NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, also addressed members of the federation’s secretariat, where he announced his resignation.

Gusau’s resignation comes amid growing criticism of football administration in Nigeria, following recent setbacks suffered by the country’s national teams, particularly the Super Eagles and Super Falcons, who both failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Gusau, who was elected to lead the Nigerian football governing body at the 78th Elective Congress of the Nigeria Football Federation in September 2022, stepped down shortly before the end of his tenure.

The resignation could throw the NFF’s planned electoral process into uncertainty and potentially affect the September 27 elections for the federation’s board, which are scheduled to hold in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been named the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year after an outstanding 2025-26 Premier League campaign.

The 31-year-old midfielder played a key role in United’s third-place finish, providing a league-record 21 assists and scoring nine goals. His performances also saw him become the second-fastest Manchester United player in the Premier League era to reach 200 goal involvements, achieving the milestone in 314 appearances, behind only Wayne Rooney’s 295.

Fernandes, who joined United in 2020, is the second Portuguese player to win the prestigious award after Cristiano Ronaldo claimed it in 2007 and 2008.

United manager Michael Carrick gave Fernandes greater freedom in attack, a role that allowed the captain to further influence matches with his creativity and vision.
“Bruno can just create moments. He’s bright. I think that little bit of freedom suits him,” Carrick said earlier in the season.
Fernandes has now recorded 110 goals and 106 assists for United. His award also means Manchester United players have won the men’s PFA Player of the Year prize 12 times, more than any other club in England and Wales.

In the women’s category, Manchester City forward Khadija Shaw was named PFA Women’s Player of the Year for the second time after finishing as the Women’s Super League’s top scorer with 21 goals.

Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly won the Men’s Young Player of the Year award after making 53 appearances and scoring nine goals in a breakthrough campaign. Arsenal striker Olivia Smith claimed the Women’s Young Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year.

The PFA Premier League Team of the Year included David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, Nico O’Reilly, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Bruno Fernandes, Declan Rice, Rayan Cherki, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo and Igor Thiago.