[5] The match was won by Inter Milan, who beat Bayern Munich 2–0 to complete the treble, a feat never before achieved by any team from either Italy or Germany.

The 2010 final was the first not to feature an English side since Porto beat Monaco in 2004, due to Manchester United being knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals on away goals.

The first meeting between the two sides took place in the third round of the 1988–89 UEFA Cup; Inter won 2–0 the first match at the Olympiastadion in Munich, but Bayern responded with a 3–1 win at the San Siro two weeks later to go through on the away goals rule.

[7] Meanwhile, Inter beat Roma 1–0 for their sixth Coppa Italia on 5 May,[8] and then won their fifth Serie A title in a row and their second Double on 16 May with a 1–0 win away to relegated Siena.

[9] With both teams having secured domestic Doubles going into the final, it was guaranteed that the Treble would be won for the second year in a row, following Barcelona's success in 2008–09.

The committee – who selected the venue for the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final at the same meeting – based their decision on a number of key criteria, including stadium capacity, facilities and security.

[4] It had been decided that the final would be played on a Saturday for the first time in Champions League history at the UEFA Executive Committee's meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 30 November 2007.

The unique visual identity of the 2010 final was revealed at a special ceremony at Madrid's Ciudad del Fútbol Español on 20 November 2009.

In attendance at the ceremony were final ambassador Emilio Butragueño, Royal Spanish Football Federation president Ángel María Villar Llona and UEFA's competitions director Giorgio Marchetti.

UEFA has given the Champions League final a unique visual identity every year since 1999, in order to give "a distinctive flavour of the host city".

[22] At the event, Aguirre was presented with the first ticket for the final by Real Madrid players Cristiano Ronaldo and Raúl.

Platini then handed the trophy to Royal Spanish Football Federation president Ángel María Villar Llona and Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, the mayor of Madrid, so that it might be put on display in the city until the day of the final.

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, players Raúl, Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo, and final ambassador Emilio Butragueño were also present at the ceremony.

[26][27] The referee for the 2010 UEFA Champions League final was Howard Webb, representing The Football Association of England.

His first appointment in the Champions League proper came a year later with the group stage encounter between Steaua București and Lyon on 26 September 2006.

[39] José Mourinho revealed after the match that he would likely resign from Inter to pursue the goal of being the first manager to win the Champions League with three clubs.

[42] Having beaten Roma both in the 2010 Coppa Italia Final and to the 2009–10 Serie A title, Inter won the treble for the first time in Italian football history.