Paris Saint-Germain FC in the context of "2025 FIFA Club World Cup final"

The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship. It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors, chiefly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL). It returned in 2005 as an annual competition until 2023. Following the 2023 edition, the tournament was restructured into a quadrennial event beginning in 2025, adopting a format similar to that of the FIFA World Cup. The current world champions are Chelsea, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in the 2025 final.

The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in 2000, during which year it ran in parallel with the Intercontinental Cup, a competition played by the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores, with the champions of each tournament both retroactively recognised by FIFA as club world champions in 2017. In 2005, the Intercontinental Cup was merged with the FIFA Club World Championship, and in 2006, the tournament was renamed as the FIFA Club World Cup. The winner of the Club World Cup receives the FIFA Club World Cup trophy and a FIFA Champions Badge.

George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served as senator from Montserrado County. He played as a striker in his prolific 18-year professional football career which ended in 2003. Weah is the first African former professional footballer to become a head of state, and the only African Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year winner in history, winning both awards in 1995. He won the African Footballer of the Year 3 times and is considered one of the greatest strikers ever.

After beginning his career in his native Liberia, Weah spent 14 years playing for clubs in France, Italy, and England. Arsène Wenger brought him to Europe, signing him for Monaco in 1988. Weah moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 1992 where they won Division 1 in 1994 and became the top scorer of the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League. He signed for AC Milan in 1995 where he spent four successful seasons, winning the Serie A twice. Later in his career, he joined the Premier League having spells at Chelsea and Manchester City, winning the FA Cup with Chelsea, before returning to France to play for Marseille in 2001. He ended his career with Al Jazira in 2003. FourFourTwo named Weah one of the best players never to win the UEFA Champions League.

Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. His individual achievements include eight Ballon d'Or awards, the most for any footballer. Having won 46 team trophies, he is the most decorated player in the history of professional football. Messi is often hailed as a genius, with his prolific goalscoring ability and high level dribbling, passing and playmaking earning him recognition as one of the greatest and most iconic players in football history. In 2024, US-based sports company ESPN named Messi the greatest player of the 21st-century.

Messi's club career began with Barcelona, where he rose through the youth ranks, making his first-team debut in 2004. Over the next years, Messi became the club's all-time top scorer, amassing numerous domestic and international accolades. During his tenure, Barcelona secured ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Reys, four UEFA Champions Leagues, seven Supercopa de Españas, three UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. In August 2021, due to financial constraints faced by Barcelona, Messi signed for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Joining forces with fellow superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, he won two Ligue 1 titles and one Trophée des Champions. In July 2023, Messi joined Inter Miami, leading the team to win their first-ever trophies with the Leagues Cup and the Supporters' Shield.

Stade Saint-Germainois, often known as Stade Saint-Germain, was a French football club founded on 21 June 1904. On 12 August 1970, it merged with Paris FC to form Paris Saint-Germain FC. It was based in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the western suburbs of Paris. The club's badge was the town's coat of arms, with the cot, the fleur-de-lis and the date making reference to the commune being the birthplace of King Louis XIV.

Before merging with Paris FC, Stade Saint-Germain's best performance in the Coupe de France was in 1968–69, when it reached the quarter-finals of the competition before losing to Olympique de Marseille.

The Parc des Princes (French pronunciation: [paʁk de pʁɛ̃s], lit. 'Park of Princes') is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the southwest of the French capital, within the 16th arrondissement, directly opposite the Stade Jean-Bouin. The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47,929 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain FC (PSG) since July 1974. The pitch is surrounded by four covered all-seater stands: Tribune Auteuil, Tribune Paris, Tribune Borelli and Tribune Boulogne.

The stadium's surroundings were once a forest that served as a private recreation area and hunting ground for the king's sons (the princes) for centuries, hence the name Parc des Princes. In 1852, the area was transferred to the Council of Paris. The first Parc was built there in 1897 as a velodrome, hosting prestigious cycling competitions including the Tour de France. Expanded in 1932, the second Parc adopted a more modern design to focus on other sports such as football, rugby union and rugby league.

Le Classique (French pronunciation: [lə klasik], The Classic) is the name given to any football match between rival French clubs Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Olympique de Marseille (OM). They are the two most successful clubs in French football and the only French teams to have won major European trophies. Therefore, this matchup is considered the biggest rivalry in France.

PSG and OM were the dominant teams before the emergence of Olympique Lyonnais in the 2000s, and are the most followed French teams internationally. Both clubs lead or come close to the top of French attendances each season. Their clashes during the 1970s gave little indication that they would become major adversaries. The newly formed Parisians were trying to form a competitive team, while the Olympians were Ligue 1 contenders.

The Coupe de France (French pronunciation: [kup də fʁɑ̃s]), also known in English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professional football clubs in France, including clubs based in the overseas departments and territories. Between 1917 and 1919, the competition was called the Coupe Charles Simon, in tribute of Charles Simon, a French sportsman and the founder of the French Interfederal Committee (the ancestor of the French Football Federation), who died in 1915 while serving in World War I. The final is played at the Stade de France and the winner qualifies for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League and a place in the Trophée des Champions match. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Coupe de France Féminine.

Combined with random draws and one-off matches (no replays), the Coupe de France can be difficult for the bigger clubs to win. The competition is usually beneficial to the amateur clubs as it forces higher-ranked clubs, usually professional clubs, to play as the away team when drawn against lower-league opposition if they are competing more than one level below them. Despite this advantage, only three amateur clubs have reached the final since professionalism was introduced in French football in 1932: Calais RUFC in 2000, US Quevilly in 2012 and Les Herbiers VF in 2018. Two clubs from outside Ligue 1 have won the competition, Le Havre in 1959 and Guingamp in 2009. The reigning champions are Paris Saint-Germain, who defeated Reims in the final of the 2024–25 competition.