The final whistle blew in Budapest on May 30, closing the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League season. We were there for it. Inside Puskas Arena, the atmosphere was the kind you feel in your chest before you hear it with your ears. And on the sideline, the fourth official's board, shaped like a watch case, displayed the added time. For twenty years, Hublot has been timing football, and this night in Hungary was another marker in that history.
We had arrived a few days earlier, staying at Maison 45, which set the tone immediately. Dinners that stretched late into the evening, conversations that moved between football and watches with the ease that only this particular corner of the world seems to produce. Budapest has a weight to it, a city that takes occasions seriously, and the Champions League final is exactly the kind of occasion it knows how to hold.
The brand's presence in football began in 2006 when it became the first luxury watchmaker to sponsor a team, the Swiss national side. It was a move that created a template for pairing high-end watchmaking with professional sport. Two decades later, Hublot's involvement includes four FIFA World Cups and five UEFA EURO tournaments. For the past ten years, it has timed over 800 UEFA Champions League games.
The guest list reflected this mix of worlds. American basketball player AJ Dybantsa was in attendance, alongside British singer Jessica Glynne and actors Saffron Hocking and Daniel Kaluuya. They were joined by football legends Luis Figo, Johan Djourou, Claude Makelele, and Robert Pires. Sitting across from those names after a match of that scale, in a city that had been electric for 48 hours, you understand why Hublot has committed so deeply to this space. The sport pulls people in, and the brand has made itself part of that gravity.
The Anniversary Piece
To mark the occasion, Hublot introduced a new watch. The Classic Fusion Chronograph UEFA Champions League Titanium is a 100-piece limited edition, commemorating 70 years of the competition and a decade of Hublot timing it.
The 42mm case is cast from satin-finished and polished titanium. The gradient blue dial carries the UEFA Champions League logo on the counter at 3 o'clock. Inside is the HUB1153, a Swiss Made automatic chronograph caliber with a 48-hour power reserve. The strap fuses blue rubber with blue calf leather, printed with the competition's starball emblem. Each piece is priced at 11,900 CHF and comes in a custom wooden case that includes an official miniature replica of the trophy.
Seeing it in Budapest, at the event rather than in a press image, the piece makes more sense. Context does that to watches. The titanium reads softer in person, the blue less corporate than you might expect. It's a piece that earns its limited edition status rather than simply claiming it.
Twenty Years of Fusion
The brand's philosophy, the "Art of Fusion," began in 1980 when it placed a gold case on a rubber strap. The idea evolved with the launch of the Big Bang in 2005, and today partnerships with Kylian Mbappé, Alex Morgan, and Ada Hegerberg continue that story.
CEO Julien Tornare framed the anniversary in his own terms. "Every single second counts in football, and it was an honor to time them all again this year. At Hublot, this success builds on 20 years of passion, 20 years of innovation and 20 years of being football's first watch." He also pointed ahead: Hublot will partner with the Mexican and Japanese national teams at this summer's FIFA World Cup.
We left Puskas Arena late. The city was still going. Some partnerships between a brand and a sport take time to feel inevitable, and twenty years is usually enough. This one has earned that word.
