Kevin De Bruyne does not believe Manchester City are favourites to beat Inter Milan in the Champions League final and secure the win they need to complete the treble.

City are well fancied to beat the Serie A side on Saturday in Istanbul and become the first English club to win all three major trophies in a single season since Manchester United in 1999.

They moved a step closer on Saturday by adding the FA Cup to the Premier League title already won, with Ilkay Gundogan’s goals helping Pep Guardiola’s side to a 2-1 victory against United at Wembley.

Until now Guardiola and his players have largely sidestepped any talk of matching their city rivals’ feat of 24 years ago.

But after the cup final victory, De Bruyne acknowledged how close he and his team-mates were to a remarkable achievement, yet stopped short of saying they were favourites to beat Inter.

“There was belief anyway but there was no point talking about it before,” he said. “We know now. I want to win the Champions League and I want to win the treble but we were getting ready to win this game (against United).

“We deserved to win. I am very happy and very proud. We should enjoy next week and hopefully we can perform the best we can.

“Inter are a very good team. Finals are 50-50. We were favourites today. It is always difficult. You have to manage these moments. There will be moments when it is tough but in the big moments we try to do our job.

“Inter have great players and we have respect for them. They haven’t got to the final by beating easy teams.”

De Bruyne will be looking to exorcise personal demons from the last time he played in a Champions League final, fracturing an eye socket and breaking his nose as City went down 1-0 against Chelsea in an all-Premier League final in Porto.

“That is football,” he said. “I have never broken anything in my life and I come out of the Champions League final with a broken nose, a broken eye socket and concussion.

“It happens. There is nothing more I can do. I wished it was better but it wasn’t.”

Guardiola’s team were knocked out in the last four by Real Madrid last season despite holding a two-goal aggregate lead going into the final moments of the second leg.

The Champions League is the only major honour that still eludes the club, with Guardiola not having lifted the trophy since his second triumph with Barcelona in 2011.

Asked if he believed City were finally ready to take the next step in Europe, De Bruyne said: “I can answer that question next week.

“I don’t see it that way. We have performed really well. We have been in so many quarter and semi-finals and two finals. We have been there most of the time.

“Depends who you ask (whether City need to win in Europe to earn recognition). Most of the guys have been incredible anyway. Will it help, yes.

“But one 90 minutes doesn’t define a career. I am on around 700 games. One 90 minutes out of 700 doesn’t define my career. But obviously it helps.”

Football's governing bodies must do more to protect referees amid a "considerable rise" in abuse that has often been met with a "silent" response.

That was the message from Ref Support chief executive Martin Cassidy, who referenced issues with Bruno Fernandes, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andrew Robertson in the Premier League this season.

Fernandes appeared to make contact with an assistant referee in Liverpool's 7-0 thrashing of Manchester United, while Mitrovic was banned for eight games after pushing Chris Kavanagh.

Robertson was another involved in an altercation with an official, when assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis seemingly made contact with the Liverpool left-back with his elbow, though the official faced no further punishment after an investigation.

A couple of seasons earlier, former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero came under scrutiny for placing his hand on the shoulder of assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis during a home victory over Arsenal. 

Cassidy believes the response to the rise in these issues has been inadequate, calling on the likes of the League Managers Association (LMA) and Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to do more.

He told Stats Perform: "From a domestic point of view, what's been going on over here with the situations that [there has been] a considerable rise in contact with match officials from what's happened with Sian Massey-Ellis, Bruno Fernandes, Mitrovic, Robertson – it’s on the rise.

"When's it going to stop? And there are people who are silent on this who shouldn't be silent on this – the LMA, the PFA and even the Football Supporters' Association, they're all quiet on this, they comment on everything else.

"They will talk all these white papers and governments, and they tweet about enough is enough about things [that are important] to them, but they never come out and publicly condemn their behaviour by their members.

"The LMA never do it. We wrote to them, and we got a very benign, weak response. [The] PFA never say anything about the behaviour of their players – their members.

"Certainly, there never seems to be any stance from supporters associations who really want to stand up and say: 'Look, we are going to do something here, what's the protocols, what's the code of conduct for managers in the LMA, what is the code of conduct for a professional footballer with regard to how they behave with these post-match comments here?'

"So, there are a lot of silent people here who need to step up like the FA have in this country. When these people criticise the FA, the LMA and the PFA need to look at themselves and say what they are doing to address the situation that's caused directly by their members."

Cassidy acknowledged the problems span wider than English football, with the ill-tempered Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla marred by abuse of referee Anthony Taylor after the game.

Aside from refereeing issues, the ongoing racially motivated problems with Vinicius Junior and Spanish football continue – and Cassidy believes UEFA must improve.

"UEFA hasn't really got a good track record on what they've done with racism," he added. "So, they have been quite weak on that really and very erratic.

"Look at what has happened in Spain, they haven't really taken control of that. So, I'm not very hopeful that they'll respond to this in a manner that football wants it to respond to, but hopefully they prove us wrong.

"UEFA does, in particular with the UEFA foundation, some wonderful stuff. But when it comes to stuff like this, they don't seem to – look at what happened in the Champions League final last year, Liverpool-Real Madrid – they never really covered themselves in glory there.

"Let's take this opportunity, UEFA, let's make the game better. Let's come out hard and tough and let's send a message that this behaviour is totally unacceptable in our game."

Manchester City have learned from past failures in Europe as they prepare to face Inter Milan in the Champions League final, according to Rodri.

City were beaten to the trophy in 2021 by Chelsea after a 1-0 defeat in Porto before throwing away a late lead to crash out against Real Madrid in the semi-final a year ago.

It leaves Europe’s top competition as the only major honour the club has yet to land, but they go into next Saturday’s meeting with the Serie A side in Istanbul as firm favourites to complete an historic treble.

The second leg of that feat was achieved with a 2-1 victory against Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, with a goal in either half from Ilkay Gundogan sealing the win and adding the cup to the Premier League title they won in May.

With Europe’s biggest prize having continued to elude them, Rodri pointed to last month’s sensational win against Real in the last four as confirmation that the team can right the wrongs of previous seasons.

“As I tell you before, we try to learn a lot from the past,” he said.

“It’s something you learn and I think the desire…how we played Real Madrid, for example, before a defeat there last year, so we’re going to play in the same way, trying to solve the situation, come back from the situation and try to win the final.”

The 4-0 victory at the Etihad against the reigning European champions that sent them to Istanbul saw City at their dazzling best, Bernardo Silva scoring twice together with goals from Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez to complete a 5-1 aggregate win.

It was in stark contrast to the feeling surrounding the club as they were eliminated by the same opponent at the same stage the previous campaign, letting a two-goal aggregate lead slip in the final minutes at the Bernabeu before losing in extra-time.

“I think that the experience is a very good point,” said Rodri. “Also the players that came in make a massive impact to give us extra every year. I think that the squad in general, you learn as a group. We try to innovate and push ourselves to the minute every time.

“I think Pep said that you will not be ‘big, big’ if you don’t win in Europe. It’s the exam we have to pass again. Another final and we are ready, that’s all I can say. I’m just going to push the guys to be ourselves. Be confident, be ourselves and try our best and fight for the final.

“We have a squad of 23 players and all of them have been important at some part of the season. The team wins trophies and the 23 were part of this from the first round until the end in the Premier League, the same in the Champions League to have into the final. The team is so important.”

UEFA has confirmed referee Szymon Marciniak will remain in charge of next week’s Champions League final after investigating his alleged links with a far-right movement.

Marciniak was under review after speaking at a recent event organised by Polish far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen and his role as match official for Manchester City’s clash with Inter Milan in Istanbul on June 10 was in doubt.

But UEFA is satisfied that Marciniak had been “gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question” and will keep the 42-year-old Pole as referee.

UEFA said: “Following Mr. Marciniak’s statement, UEFA acknowledges his profound apologies and clarification.

“UEFA also reached out to “NEVERAGAIN,” an NGO affiliated with the FARE network, which raised the initial concerns about Mr. Marciniak’s involvement in the event.

“They requested that Mr. Marciniak remain in his role as the referee for the upcoming UEFA Champions League final, firmly asserting that removing him would undermine the promotion of anti-discrimination.

“Based on the information provided, UEFA confirms that Mr. Marciniak will fulfil his role as the referee for the 2023 UEFA Champions League final.”

The organiser of the event at which Marciniak was a guest speaker, co-chairman of the Confederation party Mentzen, launched the political slogan ‘We stand against Jews, gays, abortion, taxation and the European Union’.

Anti-racism group Never Again had urged UEFA to drop Marciniak after the event at the International Congress Centre in Katowice.

Marciniak said in a statement: “I want to express my deepest apologies for my involvement and any distress or harm it may have caused.

“Upon reflection and further investigation, it has become evident that I was gravely misled and completely unaware of the true nature and affiliations of the event in question.

Marciniak, second right, refereed December’s World Cup final in Qatar (Nick Potts/PA)

“I had no knowledge that it was associated (with) a Polish extreme-right movement. Had I been aware of this fact, I would have categorically declined the invitation.

“It is important to understand that the values promoted by this movement are entirely contrary to my personal beliefs and the principles I strive to uphold in my life. I am deeply remorseful for any perception that my participation may have contradicted them.”

Marciniak, 42, became the first Polish referee to take charge of a World Cup final in Qatar last December when Argentina beat France on penalties.

He refereed the second leg of City’s semi-final win against Real Madrid and has taken charge of seven other Champions League fixtures.

UEFA will decide on Friday whether to replace Champions League final referee Szymon Marciniak due to his alleged links with a far-right movement in Poland.

Marciniak is being investigated by UEFA after it was claimed he spoke at a recent event organised by a Polish far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen.

UEFA appointed Marciniak last month to referee the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan in Istanbul on June 10.

European football’s governing body said: “UEFA is aware of the allegations surrounding Szymon Marciniak and is seeking urgent clarification.

“UEFA and the whole football community abhor the ‘values’ that are promoted by the group in question and takes these allegations very seriously.

“A further announcement will be made (on Friday) after reviewing all the evidence.”

Mentzen, co-chairman of the Confederation party, launched the political slogan ‘We stand against Jews, gays, abortion, taxation and the European Union’.

Anti-racism group Never Again has urged UEFA to drop Marciniak after claiming he had promoted and was one of the keynote speakers at an event held by Mentzen at the International Congress Centre in Katowice.

Marciniak, 42, became the first Polish referee to take charge of a World Cup final in Qatar last December when Argentina beat France on penalties.

He refereed the second leg of City’s semi-final win against Real Madrid and has taken charge of seven other Champions League fixtures.

Liverpool claimed their sixth European Cup after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid, on this day in 2019.

Jurgen Klopp’s men returned to the big stage 12 months after they had lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in the 2018 final in Kiev, determined to go one better.

They did so still reflecting on a remarkable Premier League season during which they had finished on 97 points, yet still narrowly missed out on the title to Manchester City.

The intervening three weeks had given them time to reflect upon on a near miss, but also to prepare for their showdown with Spurs after both had negotiated a path to Madrid in thrilling fashion.

Liverpool had looked to be heading out of the competition after the first leg of their semi-final when they went down 3-0 in Barcelona, but two goals each from Divock Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum on a memorable night at Anfield rekindled their hopes.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side too needed something special to make it to the final when, with just 35 minutes of their last-four tie against Ajax remaining, they trailed 3-0 on aggregate in Amsterdam only for Lucas Moura to plunder a hat-trick which took them through on away goals.

The scene was set for a classic in Spain, although while the opening was explosive, the game failed to live up to expectations.

The die was cast within 22 seconds of kick-off when Moussa Sissoko was adjudged to have handled Sadio Mane’s cross and referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot.

Mohamed Salah dispatched the resulting penalty past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and although Klopp’s first trophy as Reds boss was not secured until substitute Origi struck three minutes from time, Spurs never really looked like getting back into the game.

The German, who had lost his previous six cup finals, said: “I only want to enjoy that we won it. All the rest is not important.

“I feel mostly relieved, to be honest. Relieved for my family because they are pretty close to me, as you can imagine.

“Six times we always flew on holiday with a silver medal. That doesn’t feel too cool.”

Willian believes success in football does not necessarily equate to a cabinet full of silverware, highlighting Harry Kane as an example.

The Fulham attacker was a two-time Premier League winner during his time with Chelsea, and collected medals in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League.

In addition, the 34-year-old won the 2019 Copa America with Brazil and was a member of his nation's squad when they came fourth at home in the 2014 World Cup.

But when asked what defines success in football, he suggested that trophies do not solely define the legacy of a player's career.

"I think it's a mix of several factors," he told Stats Perform. "It is to win titles, [it] is to be playing at a high level.

"Sometimes there are players who don't win titles, but play at a high level and are always playing well, always scoring goals. Harry Kane, for example, for me, is a great player

"[He] is always at a high level at Tottenham, playing very well and scoring goals, but I don't think he has any career titles as a professional. Can you say that he was not successful in football?

"It depends. It is a mixture of things. It depends a lot on what it means to be successful in football. For me, the most important thing is for the player to be playing well, and the title becomes a consequence of the work."

Despite his success, Willian acknowledged there are two major honours that have eluded him, at club and international level, but he adds their absence from his collection does not detract from his other successes.

"One is the Champions League and the other is the World Cup," he noted. "Every player has that dream.

"Those are the two titles I'd really like to win, but if I don't win them, I'm satisfied with my career and the titles I've already won."

Willian has spent nine seasons in the Premier League, more than he has in any domestic top-flight competition, and he maintains it remains the strongest he has played in.

"The Premier League is the best league in the world," he added. "You'll never have an easy match.

"It might get easier during the game, and you might beat the other team, but you're never going to go into the match thinking it's going to be easy, thinking you're going to win 4-0.

"It is a very difficult league. The last one can take points from the first one, and it is very competitive and that is why it becomes the best in the world."

Union Berlin secured Champions League qualification for the first time in their history as Schalke suffered relegation from Bundesliga on the final day of the season.

Rani Khedira's 81st-minute winner at home to Werder Bremen saw Union pip Freiburg to fourth place in the German top flight, with Urs Fischer's side booking their spot in UEFA's top club competition for next season.

There was no such good fortune for Schalke, though, as they dropped back down to 2. Bundesliga following a 4-2 defeat to third-placed RB Leipzig on Saturday.

As Bayern Munich celebrated edging out Borussia Dortmund for the title on goal difference, Stuttgart will be left to fight for their top-flight status in a play-off after a 1-1 draw at home to Hoffenheim.

Stuttgart will face either Hamburg or Heidenheim, with whoever finishes third in the German second division due to battle with Sebastian Hoeness' men for a place in Bundesliga next term.

Had Stuttgart won, Augsburg would have been in that play-off after a 2-0 final-day defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach, while Bochum pulled clear of danger with a 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Mauricio Pochettino has "everything to succeed" in his first season if appointed as Chelsea's new head coach, according to former Blues winger Willian.

Pochettino has been out of management since being sacked as Paris Saint-Germain boss at the end of last season, but he is reportedly close to taking over at Stamford Bridge ahead of next campaign.

His rumoured arrival comes at the end of a tumultuous season for Chelsea, who have sacked Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter on the way to their lowest-ever points tally in the Premier League era.

But Willian, who won two Premier League titles as well as the Europa League during his seven-year spell with the Blues, believes Pochettino is the man to bring success back to the club.

"He is a great manager," Willian told Stats Perform. "He did a great job while he was at Tottenham and he has everything to succeed.

"Chelsea is a giant club, it's a club that is always used to winning titles. Chelsea might not win anything one year, but the next year they'll be fighting for a title.

"Chelsea has been winning titles this way for a few years now, and sometimes they don't do well in a league, but they win a European trophy or a cup.

"Chelsea is a club that will always fight for titles, and I think they have everything to fight for a title again next year."

Chelsea have spent over £600million in the transfer market since Todd Boehly's consortium took control of the club, including £323m on acquiring eight players in the January window alone.

Willian feels the new signings will come good, adding: "I think the team has quality players.

"They have signed a lot of players, but you can see they have a lot of quality players and I think they have everything to succeed, yes."

Willian now plies his trade with Chelsea's west London rivals Fulham, who have secured a top-half finish in a successful first Premier League campaign following their promotion last term, sitting nine points above the Blues with one game remaining.

Willian remembers his time at Stamford Bridge fondly, though, claiming they were the best years of a career that has also included spells at Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk.

"Chelsea was the best moment of my career," Willian said. "It was almost eight years, I won titles, I was very happy.

"Even before I was there, I already dreamed of playing for Chelsea. I watched Chelsea games on TV and I had this dream of playing there, and I was able to make that dream come true.

"For me, those were the best years of my career. Those were incredible years."

Ex-Manchester United winger Nani believes the "emotional" power of the Champions League is something that cannot be explained.

Manchester City and Inter will meet at Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium next month, with the Premier League club chasing a potential treble in Turkey.

It marks the second final for Pep Guardiola's team after their 2021 loss to Chelsea, while Inter will feature in a Champions League final for the first time since they won the competition in 2010.

Nani, who now plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League, reached three finals between 2008 and 2011 with United, and describes the showpiece game as an indescribable event.

"It's true, you get emotional," he said in an interview with the Go Turkiye YouTube Channel. "It's something you can't explain.

"When I heard the [Champions League] music, I used to sing at the same time. The experience on the field is amazing, it makes you nervous, it makes you anxious for the start of the game.

"But playing in the final is something else. It is something that any player wants to experience. I've been lucky in my career to have been able to play in three finals. I was lucky enough to win one of them.

"That feeling is amazing. For a player to explain, it is difficult.

"It is a lot of pressure. On a stage where you're playing against so many stars, I was very nervous but in the end everything went well.

"When you win the game, you just think about celebrating with your team-mates, with your family, and with the people who love you."

Asked if any of his former team-mates stood out for their dedication to European question, Nani picked out ex-United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, who won his first Champions League title with the club in 2008.

"He's been the best player everywhere he's been," he added. "Ronaldo was amazing. In the Champions League. He always treated those matches differently.

"His preparation and concentration for these matches was completely different from league games. [But] I had a lot of players I enjoyed playing with.

"[Take] Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, and Patrice Evra. All of these players had an elite mentality when it came to the Champions League. It was very special."

Fenerbahce forward Michy Batshuayi, meanwhile, pointed to one of his former Chelsea team-mates.

"For me, it was Eden Hazard," Batshuayi said.

"What I liked about him was how relaxed he was, for him, the game was very simple, and because of this, he found it very easy to beat the opponent.

"I love that mentality, it doesn’t put pressure on the player. I have many other players like [Cesc] Fabregas, David Luiz and John Terry."

Erling Haaland is a "machine" who has banished any doubts over his abilities during his extraordinary debut season with Manchester City, says former Manchester United winger Nani.

Haaland has led City to the brink of a treble in his first campaign since arriving from Borussia Dortmund, with Pep Guardiola's men retaining their Premier League title and reaching the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League.

The striker has hit an astonishing 52 goals in as many appearances this term, at least 12 more than any other player from Europe's top five leagues (Kylian Mbappe is second with 40).

Thirty-six of those efforts have come in the Premier League, with Haaland breaking Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole's shared record of 34 goals in a single campaign in the competition – despite both men reaching that tally in 42-game seasons (Shearer in 1994-95 and Cole in 1993-94).   

While Nani will hope his former side can keep Haaland quiet in next week's all-Manchester FA Cup final, he has been taken aback by the Norwegian's achievements this term.

"Haaland is a machine. I think that there are no doubts left about his qualities," Nani said in an interview with the Go Turkiye YouTube Channel.

"He's a machine inside the box, he can score in any game. He's the future."

Nani was speaking alongside another former Dortmund striker in Michy Batshuayi, who has been similarly impressed by Haaland's goalscoring prowess.

"He is crazy," Batshuayi said. "You can feel that he wants to score every single chance. 

"He's dangerous for the defenders, and he is so young. It's fantastic to watch a player like him, because you can see that he knows how to do his job, he's impressive."

Despite Haaland scoring 20 league goals in each of his two full campaigns with Dortmund, doubts were raised over the 22-year-old's ability to adapt to English football – particularly when Arsenal seized control of the title race.

Haaland has since silenced his doubters, and Nani says doing so in a foreign country is no mean feat.

"When players are young, moving from your country to a different country is always difficult," the Melbourne Victory winger added.

"What I can say is, for the player, to be calm and try to adapt to the culture, just play the game they know, adjust to the new challenge, because it is not easy. 

"I've played in many different countries, many different cultures, and the most important thing is for you to adapt to what the people from that country do."

Newcastle have qualified for the Champions League for the third time in their history and the first in 20 years after securing a top-four Premier League finish.

Head coach Eddie Howe has joined an exclusive club alongside Kenny Dalglish, who guided the Magpies side he had inherited from Kevin Keegan into the competition for the first time in 1997, and Sir Bobby Robson, who matched his feat five years later.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the club have fared on their previous encounters with Europe’s big boys.

If full-back John Beresford was the unlikely hero as the Magpies secured a 2-1 qualifying round first-leg victory over Croatia Zagreb with a place in the 1997-98 Champions League group stage at stake, it was Georgia international Temuri Ketsbaia who snatched the headlines in the return at the Maksimir Stadium when his strike in the last minute of extra-time secured a 2-2 draw on the night and a 4-3 aggregate win.

Dalglish’s men launched their Group C campaign in style when Faustino Asprilla scored a superb hat-trick in a stunning 3-2 victory over Barcelona, with Luis Enrique and Luis Figo on target for the visitors, but things went downhill from there.

A 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine was followed by back-to-back defeats at the hands of PSV Eindhoven and Michael Reiziger’s strike at the Nou Camp saw Barca – where Robson had been moved upstairs to make way for Louis Van Gaal – gain revenge before the adventure ended with a 2-0 home win over Dynamo.

Kieron Dyer’s expert finish in Sarajevo and a 4-0 home win in which Alan Shearer scored the final goal saw Newcastle ease past FK Zeljeznicar to reach the competition proper for the second time in 2002.

Dynamo Kiev ensured they got off to a disappointing start with a 2-0 away defeat and their hopes of emerging from Group E looked to be over when Feyenoord won 1-0 at St James’ Park before two Alessandro Del Piero goals handed Juventus a 2-0 victory in Turin.

However, Andy Griffin fired Robson’s side to victory over the Italians on Tyneside and Shearer’s penalty snatched a 2-1 win against the Ukrainians to set up a memorable night in Rotterdam on which Craig Bellamy struck late to claim a 3-2 win over Feyenoord and send his side through to the second group stage as the first side to make it after losing the first three games.

Their reward was a daunting draw which pitched them into battle with Inter Milan, Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen, and their hopes were dealt a significant blow by a 4-1 home defeat by Inter in which Bellamy was sent off and Shearer later suspended on video evidence after a clash with Fabio Cannavaro.

A 3-1 defeat in Barcelona rubbed salt into the wound and although they beat Leverkusen home and away – with Shearer plundering a hat-trick on Tyneside – and drew 2-2 in Milan, Barca’s 2-0 win at St James’ meant the quarter-finals were beyond them.

Having finished third in the Premier League at the end of the 2002-03 season, Robson and his players were anticipating a second-successive crack at the Continent’s biggest and best, but after Nolberto Solano’s goal saw them return from Partizan Belgrade with a 1-0 win, they lost the home leg of their qualifying tie 1-0 and eventually went out on penalties.

Their consolation was a UEFA Cup run which was ended at the semi-final stage by Marseille striker Didier Drogba’s double.

Pep Guardiola accepts his Manchester City side must not only win the Champions League, but do it more than once to be regarded among the greats.

The City manager has no doubts about the brilliance of his team but, despite their near dominance of the Premier League in recent seasons, he feels they need European success to truly make their mark on history.

City are now strong favourites to win the Champions League for the first time this season after powering into next month’s final against Inter Milan with a crushing win over holders Real Madrid in midweek.

Guardiola said: “The team is really good but I agree with the media or when people say you have to lift Europe, and you have to lift it again, to be considered in the same type as ‘other’ teams.

“Those teams win in Europe, not just once, but many times. We have not.”

City have been the pre-eminent force in domestic football since Guardiola took charge at the Etihad Stadium in 2016 but they have endured a catalogue of near-misses in the Champions League.

The closest they have come to success is when they were beaten in the 2021 final by Chelsea.

Guardiola said: “The joy (of winning) is so nice. It is amazing being here. Nothing is going to change for us if we lift it, but if we want to be considered one of the best teams, we have to win the Champions League.

“My opinion is not going to change but to be in the books – the real books – we have to be there.”

Guardiola has made a huge impression on English football as a whole and raised standards in terms of results and style of play.

Yet despite steering his side towards a glorious treble this term, he remains modest about the scale of his own contribution.

“English football belongs to England,” he said. “Every manager has his own ideas but I didn’t change anything, honestly.”

Lionel Messi has paid for Paris Saint-Germain's "obsession" with winning the Champions League, suggests Ander Herrera.

Messi moved to Parc des Princes in 2021 from Barcelona, and helped PSG to a Ligue 1 success in his first season.

PSG are on the brink of retaining their crown, though Messi's future at the club is far from certain.

Messi has been unable to drag PSG closer to their ultimate goal – winning the Champions League. Earlier in May, Messi was targeted by sections of the club's fanbase after he was suspended for taking an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.

Herrera, who played with Messi last season, sees the PSG's dogmatic pursuit of European glory as the main issue. 

"I was admiring Leo before [I knew] him, and after knowing him, I admire him even more as footballer and as a person," he told Stats Perform.

"I understand that Paris is a place that [does] not have much patience. There is an obsession to win the Champions League that doesn't help.

"I think that [they are] the only team in the world that, if [they] do not win the Champions League, it is a failure. All the rest can [have] good seasons without winning [it].

"In Paris, this patience and calm does not exist. You perceive that there is an obsession to win the Champions League, and at the end, who pays for it?

"[It is] the best ones [in] the team. They are the ones that receive the [criticism]."

Herrera also weighed in on speculation over the future of his former Manchester United team-mate David De Gea, amid questions over the goalkeeper's place at Old Trafford.

De Gea has come in for criticism after several key errors this term, but yet also claimed the Golden Glove once again for his Premier League performances.

The Spaniard's contract runs out at the end of the season, but includes an option for a further year, and Herrera feels United would be foolish to not keep his compatriot on.

"Of course David should continue," he added. "He has the record [for most clean sheets] in the club's history.

"He has been, four or five years, the best [in] the Premier League. A couple of mistakes won't affect his performance and his wining mentality."

Manchester City will face Inter Milan in the Champions League final on June 10. The two clubs have never played each other in a competitive match but manager Pep Guardiola does have some experience of facing the Italians. Here, the PA news agency looks back on those meetings.

September 2009: Inter 0 Barcelona 0 (Champions League, group stage)

All four of Guardiola’s past encounters with Inter came during his Barcelona side’s 2009-10 Champions League campaign, at a time when both clubs were among the most powerful forces in Europe, and pitted him against someone who would go on to become his fiercest rival, Jose Mourinho. The first of those games was a goalless draw at the San Siro.

November 2009: Barcelona 2 Inter 0 (Champions League, group stage)

Barca, the reigning champions, asserted their authority in the return fixture. A team that left Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the bench won comfortably with first-half goals from Gerard Pique and Pedro.

April 2010: Inter 3 Barcelona 1 (Champions League, semi-finals)

It was a different story when the sides met again in the last four. This time Inter ran out convincing winners at the San Siro after coming from behind in the first leg of their semi-final. Pedro struck first for the holders but Inter levelled through Wesley Sneijder and took victory after further goals from Maicon and Diego Milito.

April 2010: Barcelona 1 Inter 0 (Champions League, semi-finals)

Mourinho’s side were at their defensive best as they frustrated Barca with 10 men to end their reign as champions. Guardiola’s side won on the night with a late goal from Pique but it was not enough as the Catalans failed to take full advantage of Thiago Motta’s 28th-minute sending off. Inter went on to lift the trophy.