NYON, Switzerland -- Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will face each other in the Champions League again after their new clubs were paired in the round of 16 in a draw that featured a big mistake by UEFA.
Ronaldo's Manchester United will face Messi's Paris Saint-Germain in February, although the English club had initially been drawn to play a different opponent. In a rare mistake by UEFA in a competition draw ceremony, United was first paired with Villarreal even though the English club's name should not have been in that pot since the two advanced from the same group.
Manchester City was then drawn to play Villarreal instead.
It was also unclear if Man United's name was then put in the pot as a potential opponent for Atlético Madrid in the subsequent pairing, which saw Bayern Munich picked out.
PSG and Man United were the last two teams drawn Monday and are facing each other for the third time in four Champions League seasons. The previous four games were all away wins, including United getting a controversial late penalty for handball in 2019 to eliminate PSG from the round of 16.
Messi was on the losing side, with Barcelona, when he last faced Ronaldo and Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Champions League. That was a 1-0 loss in the 2008 semifinals.
The two stars have faced each other six times in the competition, and the most recent was 12 months ago. Ronaldo scored twice for Juventus in a 3-0 win at Camp Nou in the group stage.
PSG also lost against Manchester City in the group stage in November while Villarreal coach Unai Emery will once again be back in England where he spent time in the Premier League with Arsenal.
The last-16 draw also created three rematches of European Cup finals from decades ago.
Real Madrid was drawn away to Benfica, which won the 1962 final between the clubs.
Bayern will be away first against Atlético, which it beat in a replay to win the 1974 title.
Inter Milan vs. Ajax is a repeat of the 1972 final which the Dutch side won to take the second of its four European titles.
Liverpool was paired with Salzburg and defending champion Chelsea will play Lille, the lowest-ranked team among the 16. Juventus will be away first against Sporting Lisbon.
The eight group winners were seeded in the draw and will play the second leg at home.
First-leg games are played over two midweeks from Feb. 15-23. Return games are from March 8-16.
Teams were separated in the draw from opponents they already played in the group stage and also clubs from their home country. There are no draw restrictions from the quarterfinals stage.
The round of 16 will be played without the away-goals rule which UEFA abolished in the offseason. Teams level on goals after 90 minutes in the second leg will go to extra time regardless of who scored more goals in its away game.
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, right, reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Norwich City and Manchester United at Carrow road in Norwich, England, Saturday, Dec.11, 2021. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)