'La Gazzetta dello Sport' today reported that yesterday UEFA, in an official statement, revoked the assignment of the 2026-2027 Champions League final to the 'Giuseppe Meazza' stadium in San Siro, Milan. This assignment was made "with an asterisk," as the venue had not been definitively confirmed due to UEFA's doubts about the future of the Milanese sports facility.
Yesterday, the decision from Nyon stated that since the municipality cannot guarantee that the stadium will not undergo renovations in 2027, it has been decided not to assign the final to Milan and to reopen the process for assigning an appropriate venue, with the choice likely to occur between May and June 2025.
A setback for San Siro, especially in light of what emerged during the last meeting on September 13 between Milan, Inter, and the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala.
Specifically, the two clubs did not consider the possibility of renovation for the San Siro stadium feasible and opted instead for the construction of a new stadium. Essentially, San Siro will not be renovated, and both Milan teams will play elsewhere. Milan is still working on a solution for its new stadium in San Donato Milanese, where it has already purchased and reclaimed land. Inter has exclusive rights in the Rozzano area until January 2025.
After the last meeting at Palazzo Marino, however, the newspaper reported that the option for a shared facility, owned and divided 50/50, within the current San Siro area had regained momentum. For this reason, UEFA, evidently tired of waiting, decided not to take risks and proceed with changing the venue for the Champions League final in the 2026-2027 season.
Andrea Abodi, the Minister of Sport, acknowledged the decision from Nyon. As soon as he learned of UEFA's rejection, and once it was confirmed that UEFA's reasons did not affect the use of the San Siro facility for the 2032 European Championship, the Italian Football Federation (F.I.G.C.) began working on alternatives to propose to UEFA.
In Italy, only one other stadium meets the key requirement (60,000 seats) to host the Champions League final: the Olimpico in Rome.
Italy can provide its alternative to Milan, but, as specified by La Gazzetta dello Sport, all federations within UEFA now have the opportunity to express their candidates.
