Champions League Final Prediction: Claude Makelele on Inter’s ‘Last Chance’ Hunger vs PSG’s Newfound Strength

legend Claude Makelele has given his take on the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Inter Milan, noting the teams’ fundamental contrast. 

Luis Enrique’s PSG will lock horns with Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan in the 2024/25 Champions League final at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. A win will make them the first European club to win a ‘true quadruple’ since Celtic in 1966/67. They come into the game full of confidence, winning the Ligue 1 title, Coupe de , and Trophee des Champions, completing a French clean sweep.

Inter, meanwhile, bring a plethora of experience to the UCL final, which is expected to be one of the most watched sporting events in history. The Nerazzurri, who have qualified for their second final in three years, beat the mighty Barcelona to secure their tickets to Munich.

Champions League Final Prediction: Claude Makelele Highlights PSG and Inter’s Differences

As per the PSG vs Inter Milan stats for the 2024/25 Champions League final, the two teams have never faced each other in Europe. This makes for a rather unpredictable affair, with Claude Makelele underlining the differences in mindset and approach.

Speaking with Mirror Football, the 2001/02 Champions League winner Makelele said:

“Inter have the experience, many players, who played in the first final and lost, maybe for them this could be their last final.

“I think they will approach this game in a different way.”

He continued:

“PSG have built a young team with a new manager, who has built a strong team in a short period of time. Everyone may have been surprised by the way this team are playing. I knew this manager would do a great job. But they will take Inter Milan seriously.

“I think they’ve corrected many mistakes they made before. Of course, we all dream about a team with a lot of big players, but many teams, they cannot deal with this. Many presidents are dreaming of building these kinds of teams, but it’s difficult, different generations, different football.”

Makelele concluded his Champions League final prediction saying:

“I think they realised, ‘Okay, we will need to build for longer to win these kinds of trophies and think in a different way’. Now, they are achieving success. Teams around the world are taking Paris Saint-Germain seriously. They are a big brand all around the world, they are starting to play proper football, and they are achieving success – the only trophy waiting for them is the Champions League.”

PSG vs Inter Milan: Road to UCL Final

PSG

Les Parisiens could not directly qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2024/25 Champions League season. They finished 15th in the league rankings and met Brest in the play-offs. Luis Enrique’s side made light work of the two-legged tie, defeating their French rivals 10-0 on aggregate.

In the Round of 16, they suffered a 1-0 defeat in the first leg against Liverpool. In the return leg at Anfield, PSG bounced back, beating Liverpool 1-0 over 120 minutes (1-1 on aggregate), before clinching a 4-1 shootout win.

They had to dig deep to clinch the win in the quarter-finals, with Aston Villa pushing them all the way. The game ended 5-4 on aggregate in PSG’s favour. In the final four, PSG convincingly beat Arsenal, 3-1, over two legs to qualify for the final.

Inter Milan

Inter, on the other hand, finished fourth in the league table and directly qualified for the Champions League Round of 16. Ro16 opponents Feyenoord could not put up much of a fight against Inter and suffered a 4-1 aggregate defeat.

Six-time European champions Bayern Munich pushed Inter to their limits in the quarter-finals. The Serie A champions ultimately prevailed, winning 3-2 on aggregate.

In the semi-finals, Inter Milan and Barcelona treated fans to a tie to . A whopping 13 goals were scored, making it one of the highest-scoring knockout ties in Champions League history.

Inter had the last laugh, as the tie finished 7-6 in their favour.