Manchester City lock horns with Chelsea on Saturday in the UEFA Champions League final. These have arguably been the two best teams in this year’s competition and will want to cap off their good campaigns by winning this illustrious competition.
This match will bring about some interesting storylines. We have listed a few.
Sheikh Mansour v Roman Abramovich
This will be a final which consists of two of the top five wealthiest owners in world football. These two are very similar in many ways. They’ve both invested a considerable amount of money in purchasing their respective teams, invested heavily in the youth system, women’s team, training facilities, and most importantly, recruitment of players and coaches.
Mansour bought Man City for £183 million in 2008 from former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He also owns the City Football Group, which was founded in 2014 and consists of Man City, Melbourne City FC, New York City FC, Mumbai City FC, and others.
The Abu Dhabi United Group owner has spent an estimated £1.7 billion on transfers since the takeover, he’s brought in players like Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne to name a few. The ultimate goal has always been to win the Champions League which was one of the reasons why he acquired the services of Pep Guardiola. Pep hasn’t quite delivered on this objective despite having the financial backing of the wealthiest owner in world football. City have a squad value of approximately £824 million and will be hoping that Guardiola can finally achieve the club’s ultimate goal.
Standing in their way will be Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea. The Russian billionaire bought the West London side in 2003 for £120 million. Since the takeover, the club has won 18 trophies including the Champions League in 2012. It was no secret that this was also Abramovich’s ultimate goal.
Since he bought the club, he has spent over £1.9 billion on transfers and approximately £112.5 million from sacking managers. The Russian is known for his ambition and ruthlessness which has led to Chelsea being the most successful English side since his takeover. This was evident when he sacked club legend, Frank Lampard in January, replacing him with Thomas Tuchel. If the German can guide Chelsea to Champions League glory on Saturday, it will be just like 2012 when Abramovich sacked Andre Villas-Boas in March that year and Chelsea went on to win the Champions League with the then interim manager, Roberto Di Matteo.
Pep Guardiola v Thomas Tuchel
This final will see two familiar faces square off at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto. The Guardiola v Tuchel rivalry started in Germany where they were in charge of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively. In Germany, the two tacticians faced each other five times with Guardiola winning four of those encounters with one draw between the two men. The German beat Guardiola for the first time in his career when the two met in the FA Cup semi-final last month. He then followed that up with a 2-1 Premier League win at the Etihad Stadium, making it two wins for Tuchel and four wins for Guardiola in their seven meetings.
Man City and Chelsea would sit in first and second place respectively in the Premier League table if it started on the day Tuchel took charge of Chelsea. These teams have the joint best defensive record in the Champions League this season (conceded 4 goals).
Tuchel became the first manager to reach two consecutive Champions League finals with two different teams. Guardiola on the other hand could become just the third manager to win three Champions League trophies, making the final on Saturday an intriguing one.
Phil Foden v Mason Mount
These two players epitomise what the Champions League is all about. Two of England’s young talents will go head-to-head in what is the biggest match of their careers. They’ll be playing for their boyhood clubs, with Phil Foden looking to win his and City’s first Champions League trophy while Mount will be eyeing his first piece of silverware in his young career.
Last week Mason Mount was named Chelsea’s Player of the Year while Phil Foden will most likely win the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Foden has scored sixteen goals and registered eight assists in all competitions and has played a pivotal role in Man City’s success this season.
Many thought Mount would not find much game-time after being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s first Chelsea XI against Wolves in January but after impressive performances, he finds himself as an integral part of Tuchel’s team. The 22-year-old has scored nine goals this season and provided six assists. These two could play a huge role in determining who will be crowned champions of Europe on Saturday.
Sergio Aguero
This will be Aguero’s last match for Man City. He’ll be hoping to sign off by helping his team win their first Champions League trophy. Aguero has been one of the best strikers in Europe in the past decade. He’s Man City’s most decorated player with 15 trophies which include five Premier League titles. A Champions League medal would be a culmination of an outstanding career at the club and also the fulfilment of the ultimate mission
The Argentine is Man City’s all-time leading goalscorer with 260 goals in 389 appearances and has the most goals and appearances in the Champions League for City (36 goals in 63 matches).
He has the most goals for a single club in the Premier League with 184 goals. Aguero has 12 hattricks in the Premier League, which is the most of any player in the competition. He also boasts the record for the best minutes per goal ratio in the competition’s history (108 mins). The 32-year-old has the most consecutive seasons scoring 20+ goals in England’s top-flight (5 in a row).
Despite all these wonderful achievements, the Argentine will forever be remembered for his 94th-minute strike that snatched the title from Manchester United on the final day of the 2011/12 season to usher in City’s era of dominance.
Thiago Silva
Silva has been one of the best defenders in the modern era. The Brazilian has won league titles in Italy and France and also the Copa America and FIFA Confederations Cup with Brazil. The one club trophy that has eluded him is the Champions League. He came close to winning it with PSG last season after losing in the final to a superb Bayern Munich side.
The 36-year-old has an unwanted stat as the player with the sixth most caps without ever winning the competition (87). He’s been a fantastic signing for Chelsea, bringing his experience and calmness to a Chelsea defence that was struggling under Frank Lampard last season. He’ll be hoping to go all the way this season and will know that his team will need a big performance from him if they are to lift their second Champions League trophy.
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