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Galatasaray and Fenerbahce learned their opponents for the 2026-27 Champions League league phase on Thursday, as a draw in Monaco set up a rare season in which both Istanbul clubs will compete simultaneously in Europe's top club competition for only the second time in the tournament's history.
Galatasaray will face Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Aston Villa, Sporting, Feyenoord, Lille, Stuttgart and AEK. Fenerbahce drew Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, AS Roma, Aston Villa, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Slavia Prague and LASK. Both Turkish sides will meet Aston Villa in the league phase.
The draw, held under the Swiss-style single-league format UEFA introduced for the Champions League in 2024, sees each of the 36 participating clubs play eight different opponents rather than compete in traditional groups.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin addressed the ceremony before the pairings were revealed, with the draw itself getting underway shortly after 7 p.m. local time and broadcast live on Turkish state broadcaster TRT.
Türkiye is competing in the Champions League's group or league phase with two clubs for the first time in 19 years. The country last achieved the feat in 2007-08, when Fenerbahce and Besiktas both represented Türkiye.
Besiktas finished bottom of its group with six points and was eliminated, while Fenerbahce advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Chelsea, narrowly missing out on a semifinal berth.
Thursday's draw marked the sixth time Turkish clubs have qualified for the competition's group or league stage with two teams simultaneously, following prior instances in 1997-98, 2000-01 and 2003-04 (each involving Galatasaray and Besiktas), 2001-02 (Galatasaray and Fenerbahce) and 2007-08 (Fenerbahce and Besiktas).
Galatasaray and Fenerbahce will appear together in the competition for only the second time.
The clubs previously shared the stage in 2001-02, when Galatasaray advanced to a second group stage while Fenerbahce was eliminated after finishing its first group stage without a point.
Ahead of the draw, Galatasaray posted on social media emphasizing its status as champion of the past four Turkish league seasons and its uninterrupted presence in the Champions League, a message widely read as a dig at Fenerbahce's return to the competition after an extended absence.
Fenerbahce also posted on social media before the draw. The Champions League's own account later posted that "Fenerbahce is back."
Before the pairings were announced, UEFA presented two individual honors. Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry received the UEFA President's Award. Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos was named winner of UEFA's new fair-play honor, the Respect Award, receiving it directly from Ceferin.
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