Enough talk. The moment of truth has arrived. This Thursday, 27 August, the draw for the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League will take place.

The 36 participating teams will finally find out the path they must take in this revamped group stage.

Each club will discover its eight direct opponents (four home matches and four away matches) in a thrilling draw.

This edition promises to be one of the most exciting in recent history, driven by the gathering of international football’s top stars.

This Champions League will feature a large number of players (66) who have been nominated for the ‘Ballon d'Or’ award at some point in their careers.

Furthermore, the 2026–27 edition will feature two previous winners of the award: Ousmane Dembélé (PSG) and Rodri Hernández (FC Barcelona).

Below, we take a look at the composition of the four pots and the impressive list of ‘Ballon d'Or’ nominees who will be representing each of the clubs.

Pot 1

  • Paris Saint-Germain (France): Ousmane Dembélé (1 nomination – 2025 winner), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (2), Vitinha (2), Marquinhos (1), Fabián Ruiz (1), Nuno Mendes (1), Achraf Hakimi (1), Désiré Doué (1), João Neves (1).

  • Bayern Munich (Germany): Harry Kane (7 nominations), Manuel Neuer (4), Joshua Kimmich (1), Luis Díaz (1), Kim Min-Jae (1), Jamal Musiala (1), Michael Olise (1).

  • Real Madrid (Spain): Kylian Mbappé (8 nominations), Bernardo Silva (4), Vinícius Júnior (4), Jude Bellingham (3), Thibaut Courtois (2), Trent Alexander-Arnold (2), Antonio Rüdiger (2), Denzel Dumfries (1), Federico Valverde (1).

  • Manchester City (England): Erling Haaland (5 nominations), Phil Foden (3), Rúben Dias (3), Gianluigi Donnarumma (2), Joško Gvardiol (1).

  • Atlético Madrid (Spain): Jan Oblak (2 nominations), Julián Álvarez (1), Ademola Lookman (1), Alejandro Grimaldo (1).

  • Liverpool (England): Virgil van Dijk (3 nominations), Florian Wirtz (2), Alisson Becker (1), Alexis Mac Allister (1).

  • FC Barcelona (Spain): Rodri (4 nominations – 2024 winner), Lamine Yamal (2), Pedri (2), Frenkie de Jong (1), Dani Olmo (1), Raphinha (1), João Cancelo (1).

  • Arsenal (England): Martin Ødegaard (2 nominations), Declan Rice (2), Bukayo Saka (2), William Saliba (1), Viktor Gyökeres (1).

  • Inter Milan (Italy): Lautaro Martínez (4 nominations), Nicolò Barella (2), Hakan Çalhanoğlu (1).

Pot 2

  • Borussia Dortmund (Germany): Serhou Guirassy (1 nomination).

  • Manchester United (England): Matthijs de Ligt (1 nomination), Bruno Fernandes (1), Mason Mount (1).

  • Aston Villa (England): Emiliano Martínez (2 nominations).

  • AS Roma (Italy): Paulo Dybala (2 nominations).

  • Real Betis (Spain): Isco Alarcón (2 nominations).

  • Sporting CP (Portugal): No nominees in their squad.

  • Porto (Portugal): No nominees in the squad.

  • Club Brugge (Belgium): No nominees in their squad.

  • PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands): No nominees in its squad.

Pot 3

  • Napoli (Italy): Kevin De Bruyne (8 nominations), Scott McTominay (1).

  • Galatasaray (Turkey): Victor Osimhen (1 nomination).

  • Fenerbahçe (Turkey): N’Golo Kanté (3 nominations), Romelu Lukaku (1).

  • Villarreal (Spain): Gerard Moreno (1 nomination: 2021).

  • Feyenoord (Netherlands): No nominees in their squad.

  • Lille (France): No nominees in their squad.

  • Bodø/Glimt (Norway): Has no nominees in its squad.

  • RB Leipzig (Germany): No nominees in its squad.

  • Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine): Has no nominees in its squad.

Pot 4

  • Slavia Prague (Czech Republic): Has no nominated players in its squad.

  • Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia): Has no nominees in its squad.

  • Stuttgart (Germany): Has no nominated players in its squad.

  • AEK Athens (Greece): Has no nominated players in its squad.

  • LASK (Austria): Has no nominated players in its squad.

  • Como (Italy): Has no nominated players in its squad.

  • RC Lens (France): Has no nominated players in its squad.

  • Viking (Norway): Has no nominated players in its squad.

  • Sabah FK (Azerbaijan): Has no nominees in its squad.

Who will be the star of the 2026–27 Champions League?

We don’t know yet, but it’s sure to be a thrilling competition right from the start.

Here we go!