PSG chief Nasser Al-Khelaïfi has ‘immense respect’ for Bayern Munich

Nasser Al-Khelaifi (Qatar) celebrate during UEFA Champions League Semi final: Bayern Munich and PSG at Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany on May 06 2026. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images It still hurts. It’s still bitter, but Paris Saint-Germain were arguably the better side over the two legs of the Champions League semifinals against Bayern Munich and won out 6-5 on aggregate.

They’re set for a date with Arsenal in the final in Budapest at the end of the month while Bayern are left to rue their missed chances and shift their focus to finishing the Bundesliga strong to keep momentum ahead of the DFB-Pokal final. Similar to the two quarterfinal legs against Real Madrid, both matches for Bayern against PSG were laden with drama and controversial decisions, especially in the return leg on Wednesday night at the Allianz Arena. Nuno Mendes escaping a second yellow for a blatant, attack-stopping handball in a duel with Konrad Laimer was at the heart of the controversy alongside the referee not giving a penalty to Bayern for a handball in the box from João Neves from a close-range attempted clearance from Vitinha.

Drama and right or wrong decisions aside, neutrals were treated to quite the spectacle over the course of the two legs between Bayern and PSG, and after the second leg, PSG CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi had an exchange with Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, during which he had plenty of admiration for the German Rekordmeister . “We have immense respect for Bayern – one of the clubs with the greatest history in Europe. Bayern played a fantastic game that could have gone either way.

But that’s football. We are proud and we wish Bayern all the best for the remainder of the season and next season,” he told Dreesen in front of Sky Sport (via @iMiaSanMia ). At the time, Dreesen had to temporarily bottle the frustration he was feeling with some of the decisions in the 1-1 draw that had unfolded prior to his rendezvous with Al-Khelaifi in the mixed zone, but that couldn’t hide the level of respect between the two clubs.