When Real Madrid lost the first leg of their Champions League last-16 game in Paris on 15 February, the world was a different place. By the time the second leg was played, Russia had invaded Ukraine. Football had become unimportant. But those who saw how Real miraculously turned the game around will never forget it.
This year, the Champions League final is taking place at a time when war is raging in Europe. It has been moved from St Petersburg to Paris because Russia, the aggressor, has been excluded. The war of the autocrat Putin is changing the whole world.
