Champions League

The 'show us your medals' brigade would have a hard time criticising these superstars, although none have claimed Europe's biggest prize.

PSV, Inter, Barcelona, Madrid and Milan are among the forward's former teams, but the man who was named the best player in the world in 1997 and 2002 was never able to scoop European club football's top prize. He even moved to PSG in a bid to win the trophy – but returned home a year later. He was also part of the Arsenal side that reached the last eight in 2003/04, when Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners on aggregate in a London derby. Yet the continent’s biggest prize proved elusive for a player who frequently sat out Champions League away games due to his fear of flying. Thuram was also a member of the Parma team that lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999, while he later joined Barcelona just after they won the Champions League in 2006. He scored twice in four games in 1993/94 but then failed to find the net the following campaign, before striking three times in 10 matches as United reached the semi-finals in 1996/97, his final season as a player. He's therefore another nearly man: he left Inter a year before they won it in 2010, before doing exactly the same thing at Barcelona the following summer. The goalkeeper was on the wrong end of three final defeats with the Turin-based giants, making two penalty shoot-out saves in 2003 and then watching Barcelona run out 3-1 winners in 2015 and Real Madrid triumph two years later. The Giallorossi also reached the last eight the following year, but Totti never made it beyond that stage in the Champions League. The Frenchman had only just turned 33 when United beat Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou – and it's curious to wonder whether the Red Devils would still have triumphed in Europe with Cantona in their squad. It used to be the World Cup that was the marker of how good a football really was. But the Argentine remained loyal to La Viola despite the fact they only participated in Europe’s foremost competition once during his time at the club.

There are many different ways for clubs to earn money in the UEFA Champions League, with financial rewards in every single game.

These goals earned the two clubs €1.87m ($1.85m) each. Group stage wins are worth €2.8m ($2.77m) each, while clubs pick up €930,000 ($918,394) for a draw. This season, two late winning goals have been scored in the competition – Antoine Griezmann’s dramatic 101st-minute strike for Atlético Madrid to defeat Porto and an 89th-minute header from Josep Matip for Liverpool against Ajax. - UEFA’s market pool, essentially broadcasting money, totals €300.3m ($296.55m) and is also split amongst the participants. - Coefficient shares are awarded to each of the 32 clubs, with a total of €600.6m ($593.1m) divided up according to each club’s performance in European competitions over the previous 10 years. - Final - €15.5m ($15.31m)

Xavi Hernandez has some doubts about the Barcelona line-up that will face Inter in Milan, mainly in defence because of the injuries. The coach is clearer ...

Who has scored the most goals in this season's UEFA Champions League? Who has provided the most assists?