The biggest Champions League eight-final war is coming. PSG will challenge Real Madrid, why is there so much animosity between the clubs?

On Tuesday 15 February, the Champions League returns and the programme opens with the most exciting, spiciest, most volatile and most watched duel between PSG and Real Madrid. There has been a lot of animosity between the two clubs recently, why is that?

This match promises to be a very spicy spectacle. Of all the eight finals, this is the closest to being compared to a war. Why is that? There are several reasons.

Kylian Mbappé. Currently a PSG player, apparently a Real Madrid star since the summer. Los Blancos tried to get him last year, but the Parisians didn’t sell their goalscorer for 200 million euros and he will quite probably leave for free. While some sources report that it is already done, other sources claim that Mbappé will make his decision just after the clash.

Hatred between the clubs management. When two men with big egos clash, it always spells trouble. Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi currently can’t find a name for each other, for several reasons.

The first feud was the failed Super League. While Pérez was at the helm, Al-Khelaifi was one of the opponents. Hints then flew from Madrid that the Qatari owners were going hand in hand with UEFA, the organisation that helped them win the hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

The Mbappé scandal also helped the mutual dislike. Los Blancos tried to get him at any cost, but PSG did not even respond to their offers. Pérez then let it be heard that it was impertinent not to even respond, and that it was better to get the player for free when his contract expires.

Paris saw the situation differently and were furious that Real Madrid, in their opinion, tried to manipulate the player and negotiate with him behind the club’s back. According to the French media, Al-Khelaifi was subsequently supposed to announce a retaliation, but Peréz prepared for it and within a month signed new long-term contracts with all the club’s important players and incorporated unrealistic buyout clauses into the contract.

Another fuel added to the fire was the talented Eduardo Camavinga. He would be out of contract at Rennes next year and PSG were convinced they would get him for free. But in the summer, Real Madrid came in, shelled out €31 million for the 18-year-old midfielder and blew him out of the hat in front of the angry Parisians.

Adding to the piquancy of the duel is the history of several PSG players at the Santiago Bernabéu. Sergio Ramos was a long-time captain and is one of the club’s biggest icons. Keylor Navas has contributed to three Champions League titles, while Ángel Di María assisted the winning goal in the 2014 Champions League final in a Real jersey. As an offspring of the club, Achraf Hakimi has made no secret of his love for the white colours and his desire to return to Madrid one day.

Add to that former Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Neymar. Both managements are playing for pride, the French-Catholic one being pretty tarnished after the Mbappé case was apparently lost. That may make the duel all the more heated. The duel is scheduled for Tuesday from 21: 00 at the Parc des Princes, with the rematch to be played at the Santiago Bernabéu on March 9.

Source: Livesport