The 2025-26 Champions League has finally come to an end with PSG as champions yet again.
It was an electric start for an otherwise dull final that ended with the Parisians coming out on top on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Kai Havertz put the Gunners 1-0 up within the first five minutes, only for Ousmane Dembele to bring the French side level from the spot. In fact, that was the only way Luis Enrique’s men managed to break Arsenal’s rock-solid defence.
But this was just the last of 189 total matches from the group stage onwards. There were plenty of opportunities for other non-PSG/Arsenal players who perhaps didn’t go as far to make some noise.
Since the last two teams standing mainly played in a 4-3-3 throughout their campaigns, it’s only fair we use it for our selection as well. Here are the Squawka picks for the 2025-26 Champions League team of the season.
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Goalkeeper: David Raya
David Raya tried his best and even managed to save a penalty in the shootout in the final. But it wasn’t enough as PSG lifted the trophy for the second consecutive year.
But the Spaniard ended his great campaign as the goalkeeper with the most goals prevented out of all that played 300+ minutes (+4.5). He also had the highest save percentage of any shot-stopper that faced multiple attempts on target (88%).
Though it’s more of a collective effort, he also topped the clean sheets ranking with nine – while nobody else had more than six.
He made one slip up during the final with a poor attempt of playing out from the back but PSG failed to capitalise.
Right-back: Achraf Hakimi
Achraf Hakimi’s main source of productivity comes in the final third. And he provided much of that throughout the season.
No other player had more assists to their name than the Moroccan (6), who also played a surprisingly solid and combative game against Arsenal.
Hakimi also ranked second in chances created (25) and third in shots attempted (19) among all full-backs. Alejandro Grimaldo edged him on both metrics and Federico Dimarco came first in attempts.
Centre-back: Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool didn’t make it past the quarter finals, losing to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain. But Virgil van Dijk was still one of the most impressive centre-backs this UCL season.
His impact started early on, providing much needed attacking help. He scored a late winner against Atletico Madrid on Matchweek 1 and then gave the Reds the lead against Eintracht Frankfurt after they had gone 0-1 down en route to a 5-1 win.
The Dutchman also had the highest percentage of aerial duel success of any player to contest 10+ (82%).
Centre-back: Gabriel Magalhaes
It all ends in heartbreak for Gabriel Magalhaes, who missed the decisive penalty that gave PSG the title. But the Arsenal centre-back had an outstanding campaign.
He was a big part in helping the Gunners reach the final in the first place and finish the season as the team with the fewest losses (0), joint-most wins (11) and most clean sheets (9).
Gabriel featured the top-six defenders for clearances (65), headed clearances (39), blocks (14) and aerial duel success rate (72% – among those that contested 25+).
He was flawless for 120 minutes of the final but failed in the most important second of them all.
Left-back: Nuno Mendes
Nuno Mendes also missed his penalty in the shootout, but it didn’t matter for his side. Him and Hakimi are still the best full-back pairing in the world.
While the Moroccan got the assists, the Portuguese was let down by his teammates. Mendes finished the UCL campaign as the defender with the most big chances created (8), but was only rewarded with two assists.
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Centre-midfielder: Joshua Kimmich
Bayern Munich’s metronome deserves a place in the TOTS. Joshua Kimmich dictated the rhythm and moved the ball around and covered ground without it, allowing Vincent Kompany to put his desired style in play.
In fact, advanced Opta metrics indicate the German midfielder played more defensive-line-breaking passes than any other player this season (22).
He also won 65% of his duels – the second highest percentage of any midfielder to contest 50+ (Benfica’s Enzo Barrenechea with 69%).
Centre-midfielder: Vitinha
Vitinha earned the official man of the match award. He plays a similar role to Kimmich’s at Bayern, but is much more of an attacking threat.
PSG goes as he goes and he led all players in on-ball touches – by quite a wide margin. The Portuguese finished his campaign with 1,898 total touches – next closest is his teammate for club and country Nuno Mendes, with 1,397.
He also equalled the record for most passes completed in a UCL final on record, previously established by Xavi in 2011 (141).
Centre-midfielder: Joao Neves
Now the Portuguese all-around midfielder who perhaps should have won the man of the match award in the final. Joao Neves and Declan Rice were the only midfielders to play all 120 minutes and the PSG No.87 was everywhere.
He led all players in duels contested (23) and duels won (16). Additionally, despite being just 5’9” tall, won the most aerial duels of any footballer on the pitch (6), while only Kai Havertz (12) contested more in the air than him (10).
Neves also came in clutch with key goal contributions in the knock-out rounds, against Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern.
Right-winger: Michael Olise
This was a tough one between Michael Olise and Lamine Yamal – nobody else came close to the pair, really.
While the Barcelona youngster is a better player overall, probably the best in the world in this position, the Bayern Munich man had a more impressive UCL campaign – especially in the knockout stages.
He scored or assisted in each of the first four matches, making opponents look like children in a playground against Atalanta, Real Madrid and even PSG in the first leg. Though he did have a poor performance in the second leg, it wasn’t enough to take him out of this XI.
Only Arda Guler (34) created more chances than Olise (33) this season while nobody dished out more assists than him (6).
Left-winger: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the key to the final all along, but it took Luis Enrique time to realise it. He wasn’t able to play past the 83rd-minute mark but made a crucial impact winning the penalty that brought PSG level.
The Georgian ranked joint-first in assists this Champions League season (6, alongside Hakimi and Olise). And also in goal involvements, with Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane (16 each) – which is now a record for any PSG player in a single campaign.
Kvaratskhelia went seven straight knock-out-round matches with a goal or an assist between the play-off second leg and the semi final second leg. It stopped in the final but he still managed to record an indirect goal involvement.
Striker: Harry Kane
Harry Kane finished the Champions League as the second leading scorer, behind only Kylian Mbappé. However, he did edge the Frenchman in games with a goal, doing so in 10 of his 13 matches played, while the Real Madrid forward did it in seven of his eleven.
The England international also carried a heavy playmaking load, often dropping deep and setting his teammates up. Kane only had two assists throughout the campaign, but created seven big chances – the most of any striker.
He recorded the second best xG overperformance overall (+ ) and big chance conversion rate among forwards who received more than five (64% – behind only Anthony Gordon’s 71%).
Of course, a lot of great players who had outstanding campaigns didn’t make it. Kylian Mbappe finished as the top scorer and Lamine Yamal changed Atletico Madrid’s defensive game plan on his own, for instance.
Declan Rice was consistent as always and had a huge final despite the loss. Jens Petter Hauge led Bodo/Glimt to the round of 16 by scoring and creating goals.
But in the end, there’s only 11 slots and those were our picks this year.