AC Milan star Samuel Chukwueze made a surprising prediction prior to the final of Saturday between Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
The Parisians – the last French team that wins a large European trophy with their UEFA Cup Winners Cup Triumph, only appears in the competition for the second time.
Nevertheless, they have to overcome the experienced Italian side, who appear their seventh in the final and have won the title three times, with the confrontation for the Allianz Arena in Munich.
The Nigerian international is usually expected to support their fellow-based rivals in Milan, but he has several plans in mind.
“If Inter Milan wins, our fans will be very angry with us, so I don't want them to win. Even if a Milanista I honestly want to win Paris Saint-Germain,” Chukwueze told Flashscore.com.
“To be honest, this final will be a very heavy and intense meeting. Both teams have shown high quality and deserve to be here, so it will not be an easy match for both sides.
“At the end of the day I just want the best team of the night to be at the top and wins the trophy.”
With 167 games played, PSG has the third highest number of games without winning the competition since its foundation in 1955, with only Arsenal (211), Dynamo Kyiv (185) and Atletico Madrid (176).
A victory for the men of Luis Enrique would set a new record for the most games played before a first Champions League title won.
Currently, Manchester City has that record, after he had lifted the trophy in their 117th game after beating Inter Milan in the final of 2023.
Chukwueze acknowledges that confronted with Inter Milan is a very difficult challenge, largely because of the depth and quality within their team.
“Playing against Inter Milan is always a tough challenge because they are a strong, experienced team that knows how to deal with big games.
“We have not yet confronted this current PSG team, so it is a different kind of test. Only this season we played Inter about five times and none of those matches lost.
“We have succeeded in winning three and pulled the other two. Yet every game is different, and we know that we have to give everything to get a positive result.”
Earlier, wing player Moses Simon, an international teammate of Chukwueze, had expressed his support for the ruling French champions.
“I am not surprised to see Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Champions League. Normally they have the money and they could buy as many quality players as they can (especially) for a club that could sign (Lionel) Messi and Neymar JR,” he said FlashScore.com.
“Of course it is not new to be in the final, it is their plan. I hope they would win it. This will not be for them; it would also be for France.
“PSG has everything that is needed (to beat Inter Milan). I played against them; they have quality players.
“Of course they should not underestimate the Inter Milan team. They have good players such as Martinez – he always scores goals. They have a strong team and are long together, the same as PSG.
“I will not say that the best team should win; the only thing I want is PSG to win.”
Experience has played a crucial role for Simone Inzaghi's Inter Side in the competition of this season. Only Atletico Madrid has assigned a higher percentage of minutes to players aged 30 and older than Inter
In total, their experienced players recorded 6,151 minutes, which is the most by each team in one Champions League campaign since the 6,186 minutes of Juventus in 2016/17.
On the other hand, PSG only handed over 1,350 minutes to players older than 30, and they all come from Marquinhos.
Shina OludareFlash score