Pep returning to Nou Camp

Barca and City were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic, with recent history clearly favouring the Catalans.

Celtic legend Tom Boyd is delighted that the Bhoys will get the opportunity to play against the top teams in Europe in the Champions League group stage this season.

Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain has welcomed a blockbusting Champions League draw that paired the club with his and new manager Pep Guardiola’s former team, Barcelona. The two clashes with Scottish champions Celtic will be full-blooded and passionate encounters, while Gladbach improved a great deal last season under new boss Andre Schubert.

City captain Vincent Kompany tweeted: “Usual type of draw for us”.

Sporting Lisbon and Legia Warsaw should give Real few problems, though Dortmund will certainly be a tough proposition.

It was one of three successive semi-final eliminations that Guardiola suffered in as many seasons at Bayern.

“We now have an appealing group”.

“It’s hard but equally attractive”.

No team have defended the Champions League since its inception in 1992 but Real Madrid’s Welsh forward Gareth Bale hopes his side can become the first to do so, with the final being staged in his home city of Cardiff.

“He had been back to Barca before with Bayern Munich so it’s not the first time he’s been returned to the Camp Nou”.

“Pep knows the group very well – obviously Barcelona but also Borussia Monchengladbach from his time in Germany”.

Group D is the first early Christmas present for football fans, with Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munich grouped with Diego Simeone’s resolute Atletico Madrid. Rostov surprised me with a big win over Ajax and Eindhoven only lost narrowly to Atletico last season on penalties. Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven, who won the European Cup in 1988, and Champions League debutants FC Rostov, from Russian Federation make up the group.

Arsenal have been drawn with Paris St Germain, Basel and Ludogorets, while Napoli are in with Benfica, Dynamo Kiev and Besiktas.

They will start their Champions League journey at Club Brugge on September 14 and host Porto on September 27, they travel to Copenhagen on November 2 and finish the campaign in Portugal on December 7.

“Once again I say we are underdogs”, he said. “For this reason, we must fight for everything”.

Immediately after the draw was completed, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was named as UEFA’s Best Player in Europe for a second time.

Ronaldo, who scored 51 club goals last season, took the award back off his great rival Lionel Messi, who won a year ago.

Juventus, Serie A winners for the last five seasons, face Sevilla, Olympique Lyonnais and Dinamo Zagreb in Group H.

North London rivals Tottenham, returning to the Champions League for the first time since the 2010-11 season, will play CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco in Group E.