Champions League Final Set For August

Manchester City’s hopes of lifting the Champions League may have to wait until August at the earliest as UEFA make plans to finish this season’s competition in the summer.

City are still to finish their last 16 tie against Real Madrid and are 2-1 from the first leg at the Bernabau. However the second leg in March was postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent pandemic.

European football’s governing body are set to meet on 23^rd April to discuss how to complete the current campaign as well as how to end the domestic campaigns. It is understood that a decision may be made to enable leagues to finish early, which would only happen with UEFA’s approval.

The Premier League are still determined to finish the domestic season, however this will also include the remaining FA Cup ties, which saw City drawn at Newcastle in the quarter final. If the season were to finish, it could see the Champions League final taking place in Istanbul on 29 August, while the Europa League final would take place three days earlier.

Of course, City would still have to get past Madrid in the second leg in order to stand a chance of getting to the final.

But whatever happens, the main priority must be keeping people safe during this pandemic, and ensuring safety for any supporters wanting to watch matches is paramount. And if that means cancelling the season including the Champions League, then so be it.

Football is not as important as human life.