Lionel Messi holds his jersey after a press conference Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. Lionel Messi said he's been enjoying his time in Paris "since the first minute" after he signed his Paris Saint-Germain contract on Tuesday night. The 34-year-old Argentina star signed a two-year deal with the option for a third season after leaving Barcelona. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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CNN  — 

Paris Saint-Germain will face Manchester City in this season’s Champions League after the two giants were pitted against each other in the group stage draw on Thursday.

Lionel Messi’s arrival in Paris is hoped to provide the missing piece in PSG’s bid to win the Champions League but the club faces a Manchester City side bidding to do the same thing.

City was beaten by eventual winner Chelsea in the final of the competition last season and Pep Guardiola’s side will be hungry to go one step further this year.

The group draw may also see Messi do battle with Cristiano Ronaldo again, with social media speculation linking the Portuguese forward with a move to the Etihad Stadium.

RB Leipzig and Club Brugge face an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout stages after also being drawn alongside PSG and Manchester City in a dangerous looking Group A.

READ: Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault

Chelsea won last season's Champions League trophy.
Chelsea won last season's Champions League trophy.
Manu Fernandez/Pool/Getty Images

Meanwhile, champion Chelsea faces Ronaldo’s current club Juventus, Zenit St. Petersburg and Malmo in Group H.

Moldovan side FC Sheriff has already made history after becoming the first club from the country to qualify for the main draw but faces a difficult task in Group D, alongside 13-time champion Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk.

While Messi looks to fire his new PSG side to victory, his former club Barcelona will have to look for inspiration elsewhere to qualify out of Group E. It faces games against German juggernaut Bayern Munich, Benfica and Dynamo Kiev.

Manchester United fans will feel confident that its side can get into the knockout stages after being given a favorable draw against last year’s Europa League winner Villarreal, Atalanta and Young Boys.

The first round of group stage fixtures is set to take place on September 14 and 15, with the final set for St. Petersburg, Russia, on May 28, 2022.

TOPSHOT - Paris Saint-Germain's Qatari President Nasser Al-Khelaifi (L) and Paris Saint-Germain's Sporting Director Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo (R) pose along side Argentinian football player Lionel Messi (C) as he holds-up his number 30 shirt during a press conference at the French football club Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on August 11, 2021. - The 34-year-old superstar signed a two-year deal with PSG on August 10, 2021, with the option of an additional year, he will wear the number 30 in Paris, the number he had when he began his professional career at Spain's Barca football club. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP) (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Along with the draw, the ceremony also announced a host of individual awards for last season’s performances.

Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy and N’Golo Kante won men’s goalkeeper and midfielder of the year respectively. Manchester City’s Ruben Dias was named defender of the year while Erling Haaland was given the forward award.

Meanwhile, Barcelona’s Sandra Panos, Irene Paredes, Alexia Putellas and Jennifer Hermoso won women’s goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward of the year awards.

Alexia and Chelsea’s Jorginho picked up the overall player of the year awards.

Draw in full

Group A: Manchester City, PSG, RB Leipzig, Club Brugge

Group B: Atlético Madrid, Liverpool, Porto, AC Milan

Group C: Sporting CP, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, Besiktas

Group D: Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Sheriff

Group E: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Dynamo Kiev

Group F: Villarreal, Manchester United, Atalanta, Young Boys

Group G: Lille, Sevilla, Salzburg, Wolfsburg

Group H: Chelsea, Juventus, Zenit St. Petersburg, Malmo