A torturous continental curse was banished during a 90-minute demolition job on Saturday evening, when an irresistible Paris Saint-Germain unit roared to the biggest victory ever seen in a European Cup or Champions League final.
After years of trying and failing to reach the pinnacle of the European game, the perpetual Ligue 1 champions finally exorcised their demons with an astonishing 5-0 shellacking of Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena to etch their name onto the trophy for the first time.
In the wake of PSG's record-breaking triumph in Germany, it will come as little surprise to learn that Luis Enrique's men also dominate our Champions League Team of the Tournament, but we have resisted the urge to simply pick 11 navy-clad heroes.
Here, Sports Mole selects its 11 best players from the 2024-25 Champions League season in a classic 4-4-2 formation.
DEFENCE
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Yann Sommer was the marshal of an Inter backline that were behind just 1.2% of the time in the Champions League before the final, but the Swiss shot-stopper did not cover himself in glory at his near post when it mattered most in Munich. Gianluigi Donnarumma was little more than a spectator on May 31, but thanks to a string of sensational saves and two crucial shootout stops versus Liverpool, the Italian guards our sticks.
Donnarumma could afford to put his feet up in the first half of the final, where Achraf Hakimi took up a poacher's position to open the scoring, his ninth goal contribution of the tournament - no defender has ever come up with more in one edition. Furthermore, the Moroccan's 77 shot-creating actions were the second most in the competition, while he topped the charts for blocks with 25, the same number that Barcelona's Pedri managed.
Despite having to watch others lift the trophy aloft for over a decade, PSG skipper Marquinhos never lost belief. Nothing short of captain fantastic throughout the competition, the Brazilian made far more clearances than any other player - a staggering 98 - and there are few more deserving of a precious winners' medal.
However, now is the time to swap navy blue for black and blue. Inter's normally reliable backline may have been annihilated in Munich, but Alessandro Bastoni caught the eye and then some during the Nerazzurri's run to the final, showcasing his dogged defending and wonderful progressive passing in equal measure.
Onto one of the few men who pocketed Mohamed Salah this season, PSG's marauding left-back Nuno Mendes ended the 2024-25 Champions League having tackled more dribblers than anyone else (28), and to label the Portuguese left-back a ball-winning machine would not be at all inaccurate.
MIDFIELD
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Several players scored more goals than him. Several players registered more assists than him. But none of them could do what Lamine Yamal is doing at just 17 years old; not only did he manage five strikes and four helpers, he completed an unrivalled 56 take-ons in the tournament - for comparison, second-placed Rafael Leao was 17 behind with 39.
Just as devastating on the other side of the Barcelona attack, Raphinha banked more combined goals and assists than any other man in the 2024-25 edition with a record-equalling 21, 13 of his own and eight assists. Lionel Messi never managed that many in one campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo did once in 2013-14, but the Portuguese must now share that all-time best with the barnstorming Brazilian.
Onto another statistical leader, PSG's tough-tackling midfield maestro Joao Neves was another player to defy his fledgling 20 years, as the former Benfica protege won the most challenges in the 2024-25 Champions League with an unparalleled 38. Naturally, he also committed more fouls than any other man, but that is trivial.
The future of the Portuguese midfield is certainly in safe hands with Neves and Vitinha, the latter of whom was nothing short of a pass master throughout the tournament. Unsurprisingly unfazed by the magnitude of the occasion on Saturday, the 25-year-old played an inch-perfect through ball into the feet of Desire Doue for PSG's third, and Wolverhampton Wanderers fans must still be in disbelief about the player he has become.
ATTACK
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Doue becoming the first-ever player to have a hand in three goals in a Champions League final would have been worthy of a place on its own, but we have stuck to the true meaning of team of the 'tournament'. All that was missing from Ousmane Dembele's final bingo card was a goal, but he nevertheless laid on two assists to end the competition with 14 involvements from 15 games. Ballon d'Or pending?
From a former Borussia Dortmund phenom to a current BVB poacher, Serhou Guirassy and Raphinha have split the Golden Boot in half this year with a terrific 13 strikes apiece. Five of the former's goals may have come from the penalty spot, but eight non-penalty strikes were still the joint second-most in the competition, and five of his efforts came against Barcelona alone.
Need we say more? Why not. Guirassy bagged a goal or assist in each of his first nine appearances of the 2024-25 Champions League - including every league-phase match - and crucially set up both of BVB's goals in their 2-1 last-16 second-leg win over Lille. Approved.
SPORTS MOLE'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT
Sports Mole's Champions League Team of the Tournament (4-4-2): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Bastoni, Mendes; Yamal, Nevs, Vitinha, Raphinha; Dembele, Guirassy
Ben Knapton
