( CNN ) -- Thursday 's draw for the last 16 of the European Champions League threw up a series of mouthwatering ties between a number of the continent 's top teams -- including a clash between past winners Real Madrid and Manchester United . The pairing , which means Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Old Trafford for the first time since leaving United for the Spanish side in 2009 , headlined a triol of standout ties after the draw was made at headquarters of European football 's governing body UEFA in the Swiss city Nyon . `` Oh yes , Madrid ! ! What a great couple a games that 'll be ! ! @ Cristiano see u soon bro ! ! , '' tweeted United 's former England captain Rio Ferdinand . Another Spanish club , four-time champions Barcelona , have been pitched into another heavyweight battle as they take on Italy 's AC Milan , whose seven European crowns are second only to the nine boasted by Real . `` We will play against Milan ! It will be a great qualifying round ! '' tweeted Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas . The draw came on the same day that Barca coach Tito Vilanova was due to have surgery to remove a cancerous tumor . Elsewhere , beaten 2012 finalists Bayern Munich will take on United 's English Premier League rivals Arsenal -- whose striker Lukas Podolski will return to the German club where he struggled to make an impact between 2006 and 2009 . `` I think we enter this match as the slight favorites , but we can be making the mistake of underestimating them , '' Bayern chairman Karl Heinz Rummenigge told UEFA 's official website . `` Arsenal have struggled at times in the league over the last few months , which a look upon the standings in the Premier League will tell you . But by no means will this be an easy game for us . '' Blog : Will Guardiola return to Barca ? Many experts , including former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel , are tipping Borussia Dortmund for glory this season and the Germans must beat Ukraine 's Shakhtar Donetsk if they are to repeat their 1997 success . Scottish side Celtic , in the last 16 of the competition for only the third time , have been rewarded with a draw against Italian champions Juventus -- whose last European crown came back in 1996 . In the three remaining ties , Galatasaray of Turkey take on the third German team into the knockout stage , Schalke , while 2004 champions Porto have been drawn against Champions League debutants Malaga and Spanish side Valencia will play big-spending French club Paris Saint-Germain . The first legs will be played between February 12-13 and 19-20 , with the return legs taking place between March 5-6 and 12-13 . Of the teams who dropped down to the Europa League after failing to progress from the group stage , European champions Chelsea will play Czech side Sparta Prague in the last 32 of the second-tier competition . Romania 's Cluj take on 2010 Champions League winners Inter Milan , Russia 's Zenit Saint-Petersburg will play Liverpool and Portugal 's Benfica will face Germany 's Bayer Leverkusen . BATE Borisov of Belarus came out of the hat with Turkey 's Fenerbahce , Greek side Olympiakos got Spain 's Levante and Ukraine 's Dynamo Kiev will play French team Bordeaux . Dutch side Ajax face fellow former European champions Steaua Bucarest of Romania . In other key ties , Spain 's defending champions Atletico Madrid will play Russia 's Rubin Kazan , English side Tottenham take on French team Lyon , while Italy 's Lazio and Napoli are up against Germany 's Borussia Monchengladbach and Czech club Plzen respectively . These matches will be played on February 14 and 21 , while the last-16 ties are on March 7 and 14 .
Real Madrid to play Manchester United in the last 16 of the European Champions League . The Spanish giants have won all three editions and are currently leading their group with a game left against Atletico Madrid. Barcelona drawn with AC Milan in another clash of past European champions . Celtic face Juventus while Bayern Munich play Arsenal .