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Ligue 1 McDonald's sides in European finals

On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain will face Arsenal in the final of the Champions League in Budapest, Hungary. Ahead of their encounter, we look at the history of European finals contested by Ligue 1 McDonald's sides.
L. ENTWISTLE
Published on 05/29/2026 at 09:30
4-minute read
PSG club captain Marquinhos behind the Champions League trophy, on show at the Parc des Princes earlier this season

On Saturday, Paris Saint-Germain will face Arsenal in the final of the Champions League in Budapest, Hungary. Ahead of their encounter, we look at the history of European finals contested by Ligue 1 McDonald's sides.

Reims rival Real

Back in August, PSG brought the UCL title home to the Parc des Princes, becoming just the second Ligue 1 McDonald's side to win the prestigious trophy, after Olympique de Marseille, who never cease to recall, "A jamais les premiers", forever the first. 

It was at the Parc that a French club reached a European final for the first ever time. It was Reims, a powerhouse of French football back in the 1950s, who reached that final. They would face Spanish giants Real Madrid. Les Stadistes would lose 4-3 in a close encounter. 

It set a trend of disappointment for French clubs in European finals. Three years later, there was a replay of the exact fixture, this time in Stuttgart. It was the same result, with Real Madrid getting the better of Reims.

ASSE denied by the woodwork

New powers emerged in French football. In the 1970s, Saint-Étienne got their shot at European glory. But their dream was shattered in Scotland by Bayern Munich. The German side, who had won the previous two editions of the tournament before the game at Hampden Park, were the favourites, but Sainté hit the post twice in the match, with many a fan speculating that the French side may have won... if not for the square goalposts. 

For French clubs, the feeling of a curse crept in. Bastia were the next to try - and fail - in their shot at the European crown (v PSV in the UEFA Cup). OM would be the next to take their shot and would miss their first chance in 1991 (a European Cup final against Red Star Belgrade), but they would take their second two years later, and one year after Monaco slipped up in the Cup Winners' Cup final against Werder Bremen.

It was Basile Boli who cemented his - and Marseille's - place in history, with his goal in Munich handing his side a slender win over AC Milan. It was in the German city that France's next great triumph occured, but prior to that, there would be more hurt... and more success, too.

PSG would succeed where Monaco failed, by winning the Cup Winners' Cup in 1996, but there were defeats for Bordeaux (in the UEFA Cup) in 1996, a PSG loss in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1997, losses for OM in the UEFA Cup in 1999 and 2004, and a loss for Monaco in the UCL in the same year, against José Mourinho's Porto.

OM forever the first, PSG the first to do it twice?

Les Phocéens would fall short against Atletico Madrid in the Europa League in 2018 and PSG had their shot at Europe's premium prize when they faced Bayern Munich in 2020. Just as they did back in the 70's Bayern broke French hearts with a win by a single goal.

But PSG would not be denied for long. Five years later, Les Parisiens went back to the scene of OM's triumph and, to draw out the comparisons, faced another team from Milan, this time in the form of Internazionale. 

Unlike OM, PSG completely blew their opponents away, putting in one of the most dominant appearances in any European final in history. Five goals and a five-star performance from Luis Enrique's men, who, in the meantime won the Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur, will now look to retain their UCL trophy in Hungary this weekend.

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