A season marked by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the shockwaves of the failed attempt to create a breakaway Super League reaches its climax on Saturday, when Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea clash in an-all English Champions League final in Porto. And these are the two clubs whose own transformations in the last two decades under mega-rich foreign owners have done the most to change forever the landscape of the Premier League. That was before the Premier League and modern Champions League existed, before Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and before the Abu Dhabi takeover of City in 2008. "When you reach the final of the Champions League you finish part of the process that started five years ago," said Guardiola on Friday. "If you win you're a hero, if you lose you're almost a failure."

Source: News 24 May 29, 2021 03:11 UTC