Champions League 2023/2024: Who are the favourites to win the best club competition in the world?

The Champions League remains the most coveted trophy in club football worldwide, and fans are always more than happy when the competition starts.

The last trophy was won by an unbeatable Manchester City side which proved to be too good for most of their opponents and are one of the most deserving winners of the competition we have seen.

They are the second Premier League team to win the competition in the last three seasons, which could be a clear indication that clubs from England are the best in the continent at the moment.

However, that would be far from the Truth, considering how much success clubs from La Liga have enjoyed in the last decade, especially Real Madrid.

Bayern Munich is another club that often does well in Europe's top club competition and is a team we can be confident will do well when next they compete.

The Bavarians are often the team to fear. Their exit from the competition last season is linked to a change of management before their game against Manchester City and the quality of their opponents.

Next season presents the elite clubs in Europe with a fresh chance to compete for the title of the best side in the continent, and it promises to be yet another exciting campaign.

We look at the clubs who have the best chance to win the competition and give some reasons we expect them to challenge to be champions.

Real Madrid

Madrid is the absolute king of European football, having won the competition 14 times.

The Spanish side was stopped by the brilliance of the Manchester City team in the last campaign when it felt like they would retain their crown.

They are the only club in modern history who have won the competition for three consecutive seasons, a feat they achieved between 2016 and 2018.

While they have lost some top players and Karim Benzema has just left them, Madrid is strengthening their squad, and the capture of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund shows they want to get back to the top of European football.

We expect them to replace Benzema with a top striker, and if that happens to be Harry Kane, as rumours have suggested, then they will likely be European champions in the next campaign.

Manchester City

Manchester City has waited so long to replicate their Premier League form in the Champions League stage, but we expect Pep Guardiola's side to kick on now.

Winning the Champions League is no easy feat, and City has finally done it. Retaining the trophy or winning more of it would now become easier.

Next season, several changes will happen at the club with Ilkay Gundogan expected to leave, but with Erling Haaland still leading the line and Kevin de Bruyne still playing with the Norwegian, City could be even better than they were in the next campaign.

Beating a top side like Madrid in the last edition of the competition shows they have come of age and can now be trusted to deliver when it matters.

This does not mean they will find it easier to retain the trophy. Because they won the last one, earning another gong could be trickier if complacency sets in.

However, Pep has a remarkable gift of ensuring standards do not drop at his club and we expect him to keep his players focused on the prize for yet another campaign.

The Spaniard joked that his team were now looking to catch Madrid's 14 wins, but this City team can dominate the competition for the next few seasons.

Barcelona

Barcelona struggled in Europe in the last campaign, but they won the Spanish league title, making the campaign good.

Xavi Hernandez is in his first spell as a senior manager, and the ex-midfielder is looking to get the club back to its best form.

Winning the league was an impressive achievement, and we must admit that it was always going to be hard for Barca to also do well in Europe.

They had a squad of mostly new players, and Xavi had to find his best team among the players at his disposal.

The gaffer did an amazing job to conquer the Spanish league and we now expect his team to do much better in Europe next season.

With an impressive goal-scorer like Robert Lewandowski being flanked by talents like Ousmane Dembele, Raphinha and Ferran Torres, Barca has one of the best attacks in Europe.

The Catalans have failed to add Lionel Messi to their squad, but they have captured Ilkay Gundogan, who was the hero of Manchester City in the last campaign.

The German almost guarantees that fans will buy Champions League tickets on Seatsnet for every game Barcelona plays while at the club, and this makes them one of the favourites.

Bayern Munich

Bayern is one club constantly putting German football on the global map, and their dominance of the domestic game makes them one of the best sides in Europe.

The Germans have one of the strongest squads in European football, which makes them one team to fear.

The only club that could beat them in the knockout stage of last season's edition was Manchester City, and the Citizens ended as the competition's eventual winners, which shows why Bayern lost to them.

The Germans are always one of the favourites, and we expect them to challenge for the next crown for several reasons.

One is that most of their current squad won the competition with them in 2020, so they still know what is required to win it, which will be helpful in the next campaign.

Also, Thomas Tuchel won the competition with Chelsea in 2021, so the manager knows how to conquer Europe, which he will transmit to his players in the next campaign.

Sadio Mane is another Champions League winner in their current squad who makes the Germans a team to fear.

If he finds his best form as he did at Liverpool, Bayern would be hard to stop, and he has several other exciting attackers who will support him to down opponents.

Paris Saint Germain

PSG has spent billions in transfer fees, agent fees and salaries to add superstars to their squad so that they can win the Champions League, but it still eludes them.

The Parisians had Lionel Messi in their squad for two seasons but could not win the Champions League.

The Argentinian has left the club, and some football fans believe PSG can never win the Champions League if they cannot do it with the Argentinian in their squad.

However, they still have Kylian Mbappe, one of the deadliest strikers in the world and Neymar, who is absolutely outstanding when he is fit.

These two players and the other superstars the Parisians have added to their group can lead them to win the Champions League next season.

It would be challenging, and they are not favourites, but PSG cannot be written off as much as some football lovers would love to.

They are one club that can still end the term as champions, and the departure of Lionel Messi could become a blessing in disguise.

Several other clubs have a small chance of winning the competition next season, including Manchester United and Atletico de Madrid.

Both teams do not have the pedigree of other clubs, but in the Champions League, there is room for surprises, and you can never be too sure about who could have a good or bad season.