Man City, Real Madrid & Bayern Munich ruled out as Champions League favourites as Michael Ballack picks his winners

Europe's premier club competition kicks off next week with Paris Saint-Germain looking to defend their status as continental champions from the likes of Spanish treble winners Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, among other challengers. However, Ballack feels only one team is truly capable of dethroning Luis Enrique's team this season.

After a complete sweep of domestic trophies, Barca strengthened their squad with the signings of Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford in the summer as they look to improve on last season's semi-final elimination from the Champions League last season. Many of their rivals, however, have made significant changes, too, with Bayern splashing out on Luis Diaz and Nicolas Jackson.

City, meanwhile, have replaced key players like Kevin De Bruyne with Tijjani Reijnders while Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki were also brought in. Madrid are off to a strong start in La Liga under new coach Xabi Alonso and hope to seal Champions League glory in his first attempt. The Spaniard has a new squad in hand and is still figuring out their best side, with almost everyone at risk of being dropped.

Despite these improvements, Ballack sees only two top contenders to win the prize this season, giving his backing to Lamine Yamal-led Barca and PSG.

The ex-Bayern and Chelsea midfielder told Sport Bild: "Bayern can beat any opponent. But we have to talk about momentum: Last season, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Inter. That's why Bayern are not among the absolute top favourites for me, but rather a challenger. I also don't count Manchester City among the top favourites based on their past performances and the upheaval. [Real Madrid], not either. The situation there is somewhat comparable to that at Manchester City."

Instead it is Hansi Flick's team he sees as the eventual winners, adding: "Of course FC Barcelona. The team is strong, and especially in Lamine Yamal, they have an outstanding difference-maker in their ranks – and in Hansi Flick, a coach who's a perfect fit. Of course, you have to count Paris Saint-Germain, as defending champions, among the top favorites. The team has become a top team under coach Luis Enrique."

The Champions League group stages are on the horizon as Bayern face Chelsea, City face Napoli, Real face Marseille, and Barcelona face Newcastle in their opening fixtures in this year's campaign. 

Additional reporting by Nino Duit.