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As the Champions League returns, PapaPincus is in the FourFourTwo studio to break down just why football's greatest competition is better than ever. From the new format, to the title favourites and some big names to look out for - the top table of European football promises to serve up something spectacular.
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The 2025-26 UEFA Champions League campaign is shaping up to be the greatest we've ever seen
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Papa Pinkus here with 442. Let's talk about it. The UEFA Champions League has long stood as the pinnacle of club football
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From Real Madrid's dynasties to Liverpool's Istanbul miracle, Barcelona's tiki-taka dominance, the competition has quite simply never lacked drama
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But as the 25-26 campaign kicks off, there's a strong case to be made that this season might be the most exciting addition yet
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At the heart of this belief is the evolution of the tournament's format. UEFA's shift from the familiar eight-group model to a 36-team Swiss-style league phase has reshaped the rhythm and scaled the competition
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This year will be only the second season under the new rules, but already the sense of unpredictability, depth and drama is unlike anything the Champions League has offered before
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When UEFA announced changes to the Champions League, many fans, including myself, pundits, players, managers, were sceptical
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But the early returns last season suggest this structure is a net positive for the competition
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Here's why every match matters more. In the old format, barring the rare upsets United in 2012, Chelsea in 2013, for example
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super clubs used to coast through their groups, playing their B team in the last two to three games
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The stadiums were empty. They were basically dead rubbers. Now, with a bigger table and a tougher, more intense qualification path to the last 16
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there's little to no room for complacency. Even finishing ninth instead of eighth means a team has to navigate a two-legged playoff to survive
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That marginal difference could shape a club's season, and I love it
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Look at last season. PSG were three points off crashing out the competition
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They went on to win the whole thing. the margins are so tight. Big clubs play big clubs, guaranteed. I think one of the biggest
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frustrations of the old group stage model was how often Europe's super clubs were kept apart
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until the spring. For the majority of autumn, we would watch heavyweights breeze past the smaller
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clubs. We had to wait months for the blockbuster showdowns. But game week one, look, we've got
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Bayern vs Chelsea, Liverpool vs Atletico, Newcastle vs Barca, City vs Napoli, Juve vs Dortmund
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It's going off from the get-go. We've got some debutants this year, ladies and gents
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Bodo Glimt have arrived. You know Bodo Glimt, the Norwegian team that have ruined
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all of your acres in the last few years But not long ago they were a small club battling to survive Now against all odds they climbed to Europe biggest stage They stunned giants in the past
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beating Mourinho's Roma 6-1, knocking out Angus Celtic from the Conference League 5-1 on aggregate
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Tottenham, City, Juve, Gala. Keep an eye out when you play these lot
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They are fearless and they know no boundaries. Kairat Almaty, the first Kazakh club to reach this stage
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knocking Celtic out in doing so. I don't know if you guys saw their players' reaction
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to finding out that they'd be playing at the Emirates. In case you haven't, roll the clip
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Beautiful scenes. That is truly what it's all about. Good luck to them
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Another debutant that adds a bit of geographical flavour into the mix is Pathos
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Imagine. Pafos away. Away days in Pafos. They're not a joke, by the way
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Beat Maccabee Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kiev, and Red Star Belgrade to get here
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Familiar face in the backline as well. David Luiz just signed for them
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Random, but I like it a lot. For the neutrals, these names inject unpredictability
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Every season needs its Cinderella run, and the format gives these lot a proper opportunity to make a mark
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Of course, the Champions League remains defined by its giants. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, now Paris Saint-Germain
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And this season is no different in that sense. Each convinced that Budapest in May could and should be their crowning moment
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Madrid, as ever, stand at the centre of the conversation with Vinny Jr. and Mbappe
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arguably in their prime, Jude Bellingham already the talisman. They look as dangerous as ever
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And after last year's whitewash exit to Arsenal, Xabi Alonso is without question seeking a delayed remontada
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ready to extend a legacy that already feels untouchable. Liverpool, they probably feel they should be the favourites
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Look at the team they've built, for God's sake. Salah, Isak, Iketike, Van Dijk, Wurz and the rest
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under the bright lights on a Champions League night. How unbelievable does that sound
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Would it be a disappointment if they didn't go on to win it? PSG, written off time and time again
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mocked for failing when it mattered. but the narrative has shifted. They finally did it last year, lifting the big ears at last
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Now the question whether they can defend it, whether the new look French core PSG can go back
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to back. Again, they probably fancied themselves as favourites. Barcelona. Last season ended in
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heartbreak Milan under the lights at the San Siro a semi for the ages And Barcelona they fell short when it mattered most For a club so desperate to prove it belongs back among the European elite that night broke them
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You could see it in the players' faces, in the silence of the travelling fans
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But Barcelona being Barcelona, they don't vanish quietly. The squad is b with brilliance
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Jamal, Pedri, Rafinha, Koubasi. Mixed with veterans that have seen it all, really
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That heartbreaking Milan could just as easily serve as the catalyst. Every great Barcelona side has had its trial by fire, and maybe last year was exactly that
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And then there's Arsenal. For all their progress under Mikel Arteta, for all the beautiful football and domestic strides
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there's still that one shadow that follows them since the club was founded, and that is Europe
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The Champions League, even the Europa League, has never been really kind to Arsenal
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For years they were the nearly men of the continental football The team that collapsed when it mattered most
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Copenhagen 2000 Paris 2006 Paris 2025 But now they've got a chance to do what PSG did
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Change the narrative in one season They've got the team to do it
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And they've got no excuses Bayern Munich What makes Bayern dangerous isn't just their talent
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It's the fact that you know what you're getting City, PSG, even Madrid can implode in a knockout tie
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Bayern almost never do. They'll qualify from the league phase. They'll be in the mix when the draw gets serious
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And more often than not, they'll be one of the last names standing. A disappointing exit to Inter last season
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But the future is now. Kane leading the line. Diaz and Alise on the flanks
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Goretzka and Kimmich the anchors. They averaged 2.5 goals a game in the Champions League last season
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The firepower is there. And company who fancies chances. Then you've got Man City, Atletico, Inter, Napoli, Juve
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The competition is stacked. One of the joys of every Champions League season is seeing who seizes the spotlight
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The competition has a way of turning prospects into global superstars quite literally overnight
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Mbappe at the Etihad, Haaland at Anfield. This season, there are a few names I'm buzzing about
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Max Dalman. Yes, you all know his age. He's 15, blah, blah, blah
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Astonishingly, he's been included in Arsenal's Champions League squad ahead of Gabriel Jesus
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which was a bit of a controversial decision on Mikel Oteta's part. But it just goes to show the belief that he's got in this wonder kid himself
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Max Downman is not normal. He's got that ultra-rare gene that players like Jamal, Palmer, Dean Housen have
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where pressure just isn't a thing to him. His brain isn able to process nerves and because of that he able to step onto the pitch against players twice his age and take the absolute mickey out of them Former Dortmund striker Yusufa Makuko
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is the all-time youngest appearance maker in this competition at 16 years, 18 days old
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But not for long. Dalman is coming for that record. And on top of that
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I think he can make a real impact in those league-phase games, particularly against the smaller sides like Kairat
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Klubbrug, Slavia Prague. No disrespect to them. And it allows Saka and even Maduweke to have a little rest
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as we await the brilliance of this absolute freak. Lamine Yamal. It might be cliche, but how can you not be excited to watch this kid
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I mean, week in, week out, he's tearing teams a new one
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In my personal opinion, he's the best footballer on planet Earth. This season, though, the stage is set
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Tactically, he's no longer the surprise weapon. He's the focal point. Defenders will double up on him
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Entire game plans will be built around trying to stop this kid
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And yet the expectation is that he'll still rise above. That level of pressure would break most players his age
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But Jamal isn't most players. And as mentioned before, he has that rare calm
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The kind you only see in the very best. Where the bigger the occasion, the more it feels like he belongs
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I'm calling it early this year. Barcelona win the Champions League. and Laminya Mal inserts his name as one of the GOATs
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Wild card alert, Bruno Gimarias. Look, now that Isak's gone, Bruno is without question
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Every Geordie's favourite player is an E's, the man, the myth, the heartbeat of Newcastle United
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And if Newcastle are to make waves in the Champions League, it will be Bruno who drags them there
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You can already picture it. Under the floodlights of St. James' Park
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50,000 Geordies going absolutely mental and Bruno in the middle of all of it
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chest out, leading the side like a warrior. Think Gerrard at Anfield
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Totti at Roma, Raquel May at Villarreal. Players who aren't just superstars
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but symbols, inseparable from the identity of their clubs. And Bruno has that same aura for Newcastle
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Without Isak's goals to bow them out, Newcastle will lean even more
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to his ability to control the game from midfield. He'll be the one orchestrating
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the one dragging them up the pitch. If he can deliver that consistency in Europe
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if he can keep Newcastle punching above their weight, then we're talking about a player carving out a legacy far beyond Tyneside
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What a campaign it's shaping up to be. Let us know in the comments below which player you're most excited to watch in this competition
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I just can't wait to see him tear it up week in, week out. He really is an absolute joy
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Thank you all for watching. Till next time
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