The 2026 Champions League Final brought together the reigning European champions and the newly-crowned Premier League winners for one of the most tense finals of the modern era. PSG, led by Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, became only the second side in the Champions League era to retain the trophy. Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, reached the final for the first time in 20 years — and came within two penalty kicks of their first.
Off the pitch, these squads represent two of the most watch-conscious groups in world football. Here is what we knew going in — and what the night itself revealed.
A note on Kylian Mbappé: Mbappé transferred to Real Madrid in summer 2024. He had no involvement in this final. Any reference to Mbappé in connection with PSG in this match is factually incorrect.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
Champions · Back-to-Back European Winners
PSG's squad features some of the most extravagant watch collectors in European football. Their star man, Ousmane Dembélé — who scored the equalising penalty in Budapest — is perhaps the best-documented watch wearer in world football right now.
Ousmane Dembélé — PSG · Ballon d'Or 2025
Richard Mille RM67-02 "Sébastien Ogier"
✓ Verified — Photographed at 2025 Ballon d'Or CeremonyWhen Dembélé walked onto the stage at the Théâtre du Châtelet in September 2025 to collect the Ballon d'Or, the watch on his wrist stopped the room. The Richard Mille RM67-02 in Carbon TPT, made in the colours of the French flag in honour of rally driver Sébastien Ogier, is one of the most recognisable pieces in the Richard Mille catalogue. Dembélé has also been photographed wearing a Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5968A and a Patek Philippe Nautilus — but the RM67-02 is his signature piece for the big occasions.
Market value: ~$400,000–500,000
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — PSG
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
✓ Verified — Photographed in AP Royal OakThe Georgian winger who moved from Napoli to PSG in January 2025 has been spotted wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. It was Kvaratskhelia who won the decisive penalty in the final — fouled by Cristhian Mosquera on the hour — which Dembélé converted to level the match.
AP Royal Oak 15202ST retail: ~$22,000 · Secondary: $38,000–55,000+
Also of note: Vitinha, João Neves, Bradley Barcola
PSG's midfield engine Vitinha and the Portuguese duo he forms with João Neves have not had their watch collections documented to the same extent as Dembélé. Bradley Barcola — who went close to a late winner in normal time — is 23 and part of a new generation of players whose off-pitch style is increasingly under the spotlight, but we have no verified watch sightings to report.
ARSENAL
Premier League Champions · First Final in 20 Years
Arsenal's squad completed an unbeaten Champions League campaign to reach Budapest. Their key players are among the most prominent young stars in world football, though their specific watch collections are less exhaustively documented than their PSG counterparts.
Bukayo Saka — Arsenal · England
Known to favour Rolex and Audemars Piguet
Known Brand Associations · Specific Model UnconfirmedSaka is documented as a wearer of both Rolex and Audemars Piguet, consistent with his generation of Premier League stars. We do not have a verified specific reference photographed on his wrist to report here.
To search for AP or Rolex: Watch Finder →
Martin Ødegaard — Arsenal Captain · Norway
Watch history not extensively documented
No Verified Sighting on RecordArsenal's captain and playmaker is one of the most watched players in European football, but his specific watch preferences have not been documented to the extent of some of his peers. We have no verified sighting to attribute.
Declan Rice — Arsenal · England
Watch history not extensively documented
No Verified Sighting on RecordRice has been one of the players of the season in England — and scored his penalty in the Budapest shootout. His watch preferences, however, have not been photographically documented to a level that allows a specific attribution.
The Post-Match Note — What We Could and Couldn't Confirm
We said before the final that we would update this piece only with watch sightings we could verify from the night itself. In keeping with that standard, here is the honest position: no specific timepiece worn during the match, the tunnel walk or the trophy celebrations surfaced with clear photographic evidence we could stand behind.
That is not unusual. Final-night photography is dominated, rightly, by the football — the goals, the shootout, the trophy lift. Wrist detail sharp enough to identify a specific reference rarely emerges in the first days, and when it does, it often arrives via later features and long-lens gallery shots. If a credible, photographed sighting appears, we will add it here and date it. Until then, we will not attribute a watch to a player on the strength of a blurry frame or a rumour. The pieces above are what these players were genuinely known to wear going into Budapest — not claims about what was on their wrists on the night.
Our standard: nothing published without photographic evidence and a credible source. On a night this heavily photographed, the absence of a confirmed wrist sighting is itself worth stating plainly — rather than filling the gap with guesswork.
The Bigger Picture
This final marked something significant for watch culture in football. PSG without Mbappé — who departed for Real Madrid in summer 2024 — has rebuilt around Dembélé, who is now not just among the world's best footballers but one of the most visible watch collectors in sport. His Richard Mille relationship, whether formal or not, has put the brand firmly at the centre of football's luxury conversation.
Arsenal, for their part, represent a new generation of Premier League players for whom luxury watches are increasingly part of the culture — but whose specific preferences are only beginning to be documented. As that generation's profile grows, so will the record of what they wear.
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