Paul Merson doesn’t see Real Madrid winning the Champions League this season despite being defending champions after beating PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool last season.

While listing his five favourites to win the Champions League this season, Merson surprisingly omitted Real Madrid despite being champions and also adding Antonio Rudiger and Aurelien Tchouameni to the squad.

According to Merson, the five favourites to win the Champions League this season are: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Revealing why he doesn’t rate Real Madrid as favourites to win the Champions League, Merson told Sportskeeda: “I just can’t wrap my head around what they did last season. Were they great, or did they just get lucky?

“They were effectively out of the competition three times in the knockout stages against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City but managed to defy the odds each time, while they prevailed in the final despite Liverpool playing better football and creating better chances. It was one of the most one-sided finals I’ve seen, but they still came out on top!

“Karim Benzema, who is deservedly the frontrunner for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, had one of the biggest purple patches of his career last time around, but can he carry on in the same vein this season?”

Real Madrid won the Champions League for a record 14th time last season, beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final thanks to a goal from Vinicius Junior.