Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal faced off this Saturday at the Puskás Arena in Budapest in the final of the 2025-2026 Champions League. The match ended with a Parisian victory on penalties (1-1 in regulation time, 4-3 on penalties,). After the match, the English team’s midfielder and captain, Declan Rice (27 years old), spoke to Canal+ at the post-match press conference.
Rice: “I’m gutted, but we’ve come a long way.”
A deep disappointment?
It’s terrible to lose the final on penalties. But we have to remember where we’ve come from. It’s been an incredible season. We gave everything. Penalty shootouts are a lottery. Even the best teams have lost that way. But that’s how it is; we have a great group. We win and we lose together. I’m gutted, but we’ve come a long way.
How are Eze and Gabriel doing?
They’re devastated, of course. But we love them, we’re with them. These things happen. We would never have won the Premier League without them. That’s football, it’s cruel. We’re focusing on the positives and moving forward.
Rice: “People would have liked a match like the one against Bayern, but they scored 5.”
Should you have had a penalty?
I haven’t seen the replay. On the pitch, I think Nuno Mendes was behind. It wasn’t clear enough for a penalty. But that’s how it is. Against PSG, you have to be strong throughout. People would have liked a match like the one against Bayern, but they scored 5. You need a lot of communication. We had chances and they had very few. But well done to them, they’re a great team and a great coach. They’ve lost a lot and now it’s their time. It will be Arsenal’s time too.
What’s Arteta like?
He’s gutted, we’re all gutted. It’s cruel, but that’s football. He did say how much he loves this group, what we’ve achieved this season despite the criticism. We’ve accomplished a lot, this is just the beginning for this team. We’re continuing to build.
