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Manchester United had completed their domestic double within the space of a week.

After securing the Premier League title against Manchester City, they had followed it by beating Arsenal 4–0 at Wembley and lifting the FA Cup.

Fireworks burst above the stadium as the players raised another trophy, but the celebrations inevitably carried their thoughts toward what remained.

United had already won the league and FA Cup.

Now they had the opportunity to complete the season with the Champions League and, more importantly, become the first club to win three consecutive European Cups since the competition was rebranded as the Champions League.

Maguire swung his medal enthusiastically as he walked beside Ling.

"Estádio da Luz, here we come!"

Ling immediately caught his arm.

"Careful. That ribbon isn't indestructible. If the medal comes flying off and hits somebody, you're explaining it."

Maguire stopped and looked at the medal.

"Right."

His embarrassed expression made Ling laugh.

He understood the excitement.

Ling still remembered his own first Champions League final.

Before kickoff against Real Madrid, his palms had been damp and his heartbeat far quicker than normal.

Once the match began, however, the nerves disappeared beneath the demands of the game.

What remained in his memory were the three goals, the penalty shootout, and the way his teammates had continued fighting even when the match appeared to be slipping away from them.

Now he was preparing for his third final in three seasons.

...

With the major European competitions finished apart from the Champions League final, attention increasingly turned toward Lisbon.

Ling accepted an invitation to appear on a Sky Sports program with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, and Thierry Henry, where what began as a discussion about the upcoming final quickly became a broader conversation about Champions League history.

Neville opened with an easy question.

"Among the Champions League winners of the last twenty years, which club is the only one from outside Europe's five major leagues?"

"Porto," Ling answered immediately.

Mourinho's 2004 Champions League victory was hardly obscure inside United's dressing room, especially with Mourinho himself occasionally using examples from that campaign during tactical discussions.

The achievement remained remarkable.

Porto had eliminated Manchester United, Lyon, and Deportivo La Coruña before beating Monaco 3–0 in the final, giving Mourinho the result that launched him into the highest level of European management.

That year had produced two of the great international and club surprises of the era, with Greece winning Euro 2004 while Porto conquered the Champions League.

Neville continued.

"People remember the winners, but there are also teams that repeatedly came very close. Three clubs have finished runners-up twice during this period. Can you name them?"

Ling thought briefly.

"Manchester United, obviously. Bayern Munich... and Atlético Madrid?"

"Correct."

A screen behind them began showing footage from those defeats.

United had lost the 2009 and 2011 finals to Barcelona, while Atlético Madrid had twice fallen against Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016.

Ling watched the old footage with interest.

United's defeats against Guardiola's Barcelona had at least been relatively straightforward in the sense that Barcelona had simply been the better side on both nights. Atlético's losses had been considerably more painful.

Simeone had transformed the club after taking charge, quickly winning the Europa League and then beating Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup.

Atlético later defeated Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final and, in 2013–14, broke the Barcelona–Real Madrid duopoly to win La Liga.

That same season they reached the Champions League final against Real Madrid and protected a 1–0 advantage deep into stoppage time.

Then came Ramos.

His equalizing header at 92:48 forced extra time, where Real eventually took control and won 4–1.

Two years later, Atlético reached the final again against the same opponent, only to lose on penalties.

Carragher shook his head as the footage ended.

"That's cruel."

"Very," Ling agreed.

Neville moved on.

"Speaking of finals, there's something people still ask about yours against Real Madrid two years ago. How did you actually come back from that?"

Ling smiled.

"At the beginning? We thought we were probably going to lose."

Henry laughed.

"You're admitting that now?"

"What do you want me to say? Look at that Madrid team."

Ling leaned back in his chair.

"But after they scored, we equalized quickly. Once that happened, the feeling changed. You start thinking, 'We're already here, so why not?'"

He paused before grinning.

"Then we started wondering whether Real Madrid were really that frightening."

Carragher raised an eyebrow.

Ling laughed.

"That part is a joke. They were obviously an incredible team."

His expression became more thoughtful.

"But they did have weaknesses. Their attacking quality was so overwhelming that sometimes their defensive structure became stretched, especially when too many players committed forward."

"My second goal came from something like that. Their support around the ball wasn't quick enough, a gap appeared, and once I got through the first challenge there was space to attack."

That goal had changed Ling's own perception of the match.

"After that, I genuinely started thinking we could win. More importantly, the rest of the team believed it too."

"We stayed in the game, dragged it all the way to penalties, and eventually won."

There was still a trace of nostalgia in his smile.

For Real Madrid supporters, the memory remained considerably less pleasant.

They had waited for another opportunity to face United in Europe, only to be eliminated by them again in this season's Round of 16.

Revenge would have to wait.

...

While United continued preparing in England, Paris Saint-Germain entered the final phase of their own preparations in France.

For part of their camp, Tuchel's squad trained at Clairefontaine, away from the distractions of Paris and with enough space to vary the training environment.

The French national football center had long carried enormous symbolic importance in the country.

Generations of elite French players had passed through its system, and its reputation had only grown after France's successes on the international stage.

Now PSG were borrowing some of that environment before the biggest match in their club's history.

"Quicker!"

Tuchel stood near the training pitch with his injured foot still protected, directing another possession exercise.

"Control, pass, move again. Don't let them dictate the rhythm for you."

His training sessions frequently changed shape.

One drill might take place inside a narrow rectangle, another within a diamond, and another on an unusually long or wide pitch.

The objective was not simply to rehearse one predetermined pattern.

Tuchel wanted players to understand space well enough to solve different problems themselves.

His coaching background had been influenced by the German pressing tradition associated with figures such as Ralf Rangnick, but his interpretation differed from Klopp's.

Klopp emphasized collective movement and coordinated intensity, while Tuchel was often more interested in creating flexible structures that changed according to where the ball and opposition moved.

That philosophy was particularly suited to PSG's attackers.

Neymar, Mbappé, and Di María were at their most dangerous when given enough structure to understand their responsibilities without having every movement dictated for them.

"Good!" Tuchel shouted as a quick one-two broke through one of the narrow training zones. "Again. Faster."

After the session ended, Mbappé wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat beside Neymar.

"What does winning the Champions League actually feel like?"

Neymar tried to look unimpressed.

"Nothing special."

Mbappé stared at him.

Neymar managed to hold the expression for another second before smiling.

"Fine. It's special."

He had won the competition with Barcelona in 2015 as part of one of the strongest attacking teams of the era.

Neymar had been outstanding throughout that Champions League campaign, but the team's identity had remained inseparable from Messi.

That had become part of Neymar's motivation for leaving Barcelona.

He wanted the opportunity to build something that was unquestionably his own as well.

His years in Paris had not always developed smoothly.

Injuries had interrupted important stretches, while his lifestyle and decisions away from football attracted constant attention from supporters and the European press.

None of that changed what this final represented.

Winning the Champions League with PSG would permanently change the way his move from Barcelona was remembered.

Mbappé nodded quietly.

He had his own ambitions.

He had already achieved something extraordinary by winning the World Cup with France, but the Champions League remained missing.

He wanted the kind of club moment that supporters would replay for decades, much as United fans still talked about Ling's first final against Real Madrid.

Lisbon offered that opportunity.

...

At Carrington, Ling finished training and followed McTominay toward the cafeteria.

The two collected their meals and found a table.

Ling glanced around.

"Remember when we were in the academy and had to wait for the senior team to finish eating?"

McTominay laughed.

"Of course."

"We used to complain about it constantly."

"You complained about everything."

"I was improving working conditions."

Scott rolled his eyes.

Ling pointed toward the construction work taking place elsewhere at Carrington.

"Well, the new cafeteria we helped fund is almost finished. I'd say we finally backed up all that complaining."

"I thought you'd just convince them to change the timetable," McTominay said. "I didn't expect you to help build another cafeteria."

He took another enormous mouthful of food.

"To be fair, this place needed renovating anyway."

Ling could not disagree.

Carrington had remained functional, but competing clubs had invested heavily in newer training facilities.

United's management had finally approved a major renovation program, with tens of millions of pounds expected to be spent improving the complex.

Manchester City's facilities still represented an enormous benchmark.

That did not mean United needed to transform everything overnight.

Progress could happen gradually.

Ling increasingly liked the idea of being present to watch it happen.

Perhaps becoming a one-club player was not unrealistic after all.

McTominay suddenly spoke without looking up from his meal.

"Ling."

"What?"

"I'm getting married this summer."

Ling stopped eating.

Then he smiled.

"So you finally decided?"

Scott nodded.

His relationship had moved quickly over the previous year, and he was ready to make it permanent.

"Don't forget to come."

"Obviously I'm coming."

Ling narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I'll even bring you a present."

McTominay immediately became suspicious.

"What kind?"

"One you'll like."

"That answer makes me nervous."

"It should."

Scott stared at him for several seconds before giving up and returning to his food.

Ling smiled.

Sometimes it was difficult to believe how quickly their lives had changed.

They had once been academy players worrying about training schedules and whether they would ever establish themselves in the first team.

Now both were Premier League champions preparing for another Champions League final, and McTominay was talking about marriage.

Someday they would probably become too old to play and sit in the stands arguing about whichever generation replaced them.

That still felt impossibly far away.

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