Liverpool will have the chance to avenge last season’s Champions League final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid after they were drawn on Monday to face the holders again in the last 16.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain were drawn to play Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 2020 final which was won by the German club.
Manchester City will play RB Leipzig and 2021 winners Chelsea also drew German opposition in the shape of Borussia Dortmund.
After topping their group thanks to a last-gasp winner away to Marseille last week, Tottenham Hotspur were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan.
Inter Milan will play Porto and Eintracht Frankfurt take on Napoli, while Benfica were drawn against tournament outsiders Club Brugge of Belgium.
The first legs of all last-16 ties will be played in February with the return matches in March.
The final of this season’s Champions League will be held in Istanbul on 10 June next year.
The Turkish city was supposed to host the final in 2020 and again 2021, only for the game to be moved on each occasion to Portugal due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) would consider new shareholders for Liverpool having frequently received expressions of interest from third parties, the English Premier League club’s American-based owners said on Monday.
FSG, who also own Major League Baseball side Boston Red Sox, completed the takeover of Liverpool from former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett for 300 million pounds ($343.56 million) in 2010.
“There have been a number of recent changes of ownership and rumours of changes in ownership at EPL clubs and inevitably we are asked regularly about Fenway Sports Group’s ownership in Liverpool,” FSG said in a statement.
“FSG has frequently received expressions of interest from third parties seeking to become shareholders in Liverpool.
“FSG has said before that under the right terms and conditions we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club.
“FSG remains fully committed to the success of Liverpool, both on and off the pitch.”
Since FSG took over Liverpool, the club won their first Premier League title in the 2019-20 season while they have also reached the Champions League final three times under Jurgen Klopp, winning the title in 2019.
Reuters has contacted Liverpool for comment.
Earlier this year, Russian Roman Abramovich completed the sale of Chelsea to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for 4.25 billion pounds.
