Hello, this is international football commentator Derek Ray, and you're listening to the Ranks FC podcast.

Hello, Ranks Squad and welcome to Ranks FC and a very special edition of Champions League Takeaway. We don't do these very often, but we are going to be previewing the Champions

League final on today's episode. My name is Jack Collins and I'll be your host day and joining me across the water. It's our transvogor. Mr. Dean Jones. How you doing, mate? Yeah, I'm okay. I mean, we have to tell people that you've got this poor voice today that you've got at your nursing. So I would carry you, mate but uh i'm not sure i can fulfill a full hour

here but um yeah your croaky voice will get us through you're like uh you're like arsenal

crawling towards the champions league final aren't you but you you did you got a kick in your step

hopefully like they did from the weekend uh premier league trophy lift Just delighted to be back alongside you, my friend.

So we'll power through this one in many ways.

And look, this is so much better than it was 12 hours ago.

So in terms of how that all plays out, I think that that's something that we can all look forward to.

But I'm looking forward to this, DJ.

You're going to talk about Arsenal in part one. I'm going to talk about PSG in part two. We'll try and give our analysis of how we think this might play out with all the different sort of elements that are still up in the air a little bit. I think with the final in terms of injuries and who's going to be back. But I'm really excited about this. We haven't had a Champions League final between two league winners since 2020.

And arguably, you have to go back even further than that to find a Champions

League final that was legitimately, and I think fairly, the best two teams in Europe.

Now, look, there will be arguments to that, and I'm sure people

will point at Bayern Munich, who are definitely the third team in that equation. I think in terms

of how it's all been, and perhaps Barcelona as well, who've been phenomenal in La Liga.

But I do think that actually on the balance of it, this is last season's champions, the team

who have got over the line finally after

years of consistency that have taken them almost to the brink of it in Arsenal. And you come up

with two different styles of play. I think as finals go, this is the one I've been the most excited

for in a little while. Yeah, I think it should be. And I think it was funny. I was speaking to Dylan, my eight-year-old son yesterday about this Champions League final. And he said, oh, that's a really good idea, actually. Like, they should make the winners of the leagues play against each other in a cup. I was like, well, that's what the Champions League was supposed to be, mate. That's how it started. And then people got greedy and started inviting more and more teams to make a bigger tournament to make more money. So he got that chat from me a very early age. But he was like, yeah, but that's really good because you've got the best team in France and the best team in Europe against the best team in England. Like, that's what it's supposed to be. And actually, it goes further than that, really good because you've got the best team in France and the best team in Europe against the best team in England.

Like, that's what it's supposed to be.

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