McManaman Names PSG, Barcelona as Champions League Favourites

Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman has identified defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Spanish giants Barcelona as his two favourites to win the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League.

McManaman, a two-time Champions League winner, said PSG remained favourites after winning the competition in each of the last two seasons.

“PSG are favourites of course because they've won it the last two years,” he said while speaking on TNT Sports.

He also praised Barcelona, saying the Catalan club had been impressive in La Liga and possessed enough attacking options to challenge for the title.

“I think Barcelona are very strong,” McManaman said, adding that they appeared capable of scoring whenever they moved forward.

Barcelona began their Champions League campaign with a 5-1 victory over Feyenoord, while PSG opened their title defence with a 6-1 win over Slovan Bratislava.

McManaman's assessment came after Arsenal, last season's runners-up, also began their campaign with a 1-0 away victory over Napoli.

Despite Arsenal's strong start and extensive summer recruitment, McManaman did not include the London club among his two leading favourites.

He also played down Liverpool's chances of challenging for the Champions League title, despite their 2-1 comeback victory over Atletico Madrid.

McManaman said Liverpool's signing of Bradley Barcola would improve the team, but argued that the club remained in a transitional period and would likely experience some ups and downs during the season.

He added that Liverpool would have benefited from adding more experienced players to strengthen the squad and improve their prospects of challenging for major trophies.