Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ended a lifetime wait to finally win the UEFA Champions League trophy after an outstanding performance in Munich, Germany.

The French giants made a meal out of Inter Milan, scoring five goals in what was the most one-sided Champions League final in history.

Inter Milan were no pushovers, given that they had to grind out results to knock out Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the previous rounds. This was also their second final appearance in three years, and expectation was rife that they would finally right the wrongs of the 2023 final.

However, the Nerazurri collapsed in spectacular fashion with Achraf Hakimi and Desire Doue scoring inside the first 20 minutes. Doue was on the scoresheet once again in the second half before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Senny Mayulu piled more misery.

While one side of the stadium remained shell-shocked, the other side burst into tears of joy, which extended all the way to Paris, as celebrations ran all night long.

PSG captain Marquinhos, who is the longest-serving member of the team, lifted the trophy for the first time in the club's history, but as it turns out, they won't be allowed to keep it.

UEFA has tinkered with its trophy rules many times, but the basis of it remains that clubs aren't allowed to keep the original trophy unless they have won the Champions League (formerly European Cup) five times or three years in a row.

As BBC Sport explains, Real Madrid, Ajax and Bayern Munich have all won the title three years in a row and were thus allowed to keep the original trophy. Liverpool and AC Milan have also won it more than five times and have the original one.

However, the rules changed in 2008, and the trophy became UEFA's property. Clubs were therefore just given a replica trophy, with UEFA retaining custody of the original trophy. This meant that Barcelona weren't handed the original one when they won their fifth Champions League trophy in 2015.

UEFA then introduced a badge of honour to show how many times a club has won the Champions League. For instance, Real Madrid have a badge on their sleeves with the number 15 to denote how many times they have won the trophy.

This explanation is consistent with UEFA's own guidelines, which stipulate that the original trophy will only be used for ceremonial purposes before UEFA takes back custody.

"The original trophy, which is used for the official presentation ceremony at the final and at other official events approved by UEFA, remains in UEFA’s keeping and ownership at all times. A full-size replica trophy, the UEFA Champions League winners' trophy, is awarded to the winning club," reads Article 11.

PSG will now be given a replica trophy, which they will use for their expected trophy parade in Paris. The trophy cannot leave France without prior written permission from UEFA.

In a related report, Kylian Mbappe sent a message to PSG after watching his former club win the Champions League.

Mbappe ditched Paris for Madrid last summer, only for his former employers to win the trophy in the season he left.

Real Madrid reached the quarter-finals this season, where they were beaten by Arsenal.

Source: TUKO.co.ke