Legends

Ligue 1 in UEFA Champions League finals

On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain will look to become the second UEFA Champions League winner from Ligue 1 McDonald's, following Olympique de Marseille's victory in 1993.
Eduardo Razo
Published on 05/30/2025 at 22:45
2-minute read
Ligue 1 in UEFA Champions League finals

Nonetheless, other French teams have tried to lift the trophy, here's a rundown of the sides that reached the final:

1956: Real Madrid 4-3 Stade de Reims

It was the first of two Champions League (then European Cup) appearances for Reims, who couldn't get past Real Madrid on both occasions. In the first meeting, which was at Parc des Princes, Reims fell in a high-scoring match, and while it was a disappointing result, they were the first-ever club from France's top flight to play in the final.

1959: Real Madrid 2-0 Reims

Reims and Real Madrid would meet again four years later, but instead of a high-scoring affair, the Spanish side recorded a clean sheet to defeat the French club. Although Reims reached two finals in four years, Ligue 1 McDonald's would need to wait 17 years for the next finalist to appear.

1976: Bayern Munich 1-0 Saint-ร‰tienne

After almost two decades, a French team reached the final; this time, it was Les Verts, but like Reims, they would fall to Bayern Munich 1-0 at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. It was a low-scoring affair against Bayern Munich, who would stop two Ligue 1 McDonald's sides from winning the Champions League trophy.

1991: Red Star Belgrade 0-0 OM (5-3 on penalties)

Fifteen years past until another Ligue 1 McDonald's team made the Champions League final and OM would be the last French team to play under the competition's previous name, the Europea Cup. Marseille would play a scoreless draw over 90 minutes and extra time with a penalty shootout deciding the winner. Red Star would come out on top, defeating OM 5-3.

1993: OM 1-0 AC Milan

Marseille would reach the final of the now Champions League tournament that everyone is familiar with today, marking their second appearance in three years. In the fifth appearance by a French team in the final, a Ligue 1 McDonald's team would finally win the trophy from Europe's top club competition.

2004: FC Porto 3-0 Monaco

After OM became the first-ever Ligue 1 McDonald's club to win the Champions League, Monaco had an opportunity to join them 11 years later. However, ASM would fall to the Portuguese club, joining the other French clubs that fell short of lifting the trophy.

2020: Bayern Munich 1-0 PSG

PSG reached their first-ever Champions League final in 2020, but it was a former youth product in Kingsley Coman that came back to haunt his boyhood club as the Frenchman scored the only goal of the match. Five years later, PSG are again in the same situation, looking to join OM and lift the Champions League trophy. 

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