Everything you need to know about the Champions League final

The stars. The fans. The weirdly operatic anthem. All of it combines to make the UEFA Champions League final a fixture of the global sports calendar. This year, club soccer’s biggest game serves two purposes: as the final act of the long European season and the kickoff to a remarkable stretch of soccer this summer.

The coming weeks will bring the opening to the Copa America Centenario tournament in the United States (the first game is June 3) as well as the European Championships in France (which runs from June 10 to July 10).

But first there is the matter of this final. For the second time in three years it will be a meeting of intracity rivals: Real Madrid, the winner of a record 10 European titles, versus Atletico Madrid, which is seeking its first.

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