Manchester United icon Paul Scholes scored one of the best goals of his illustrious career on April 29, 2008, against Barcelona in the Champions League.
However, this was also the game where the legendary English midfielder saw first-hand what an unbelievable talent Lionel Messi was.
Scholes ultimately had the last laugh by scoring that spectacular 25-yard screamer at Old Trafford, which sent United through to their first Champions League final since 1999, but Messi was the game’s standout performer.
Aged just 20 at the time, Messi was at the heart of all Barça’s most dangerous moments.
In front of a packed Old Trafford crowd, the Argentine further cemented his status as the best young footballer on the planet with a superb individual performance against one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most revered sides.
Chelsea’s 2011-12 season was arguably the most eventful campaign of the Roman Abramovich era, as the Blues defied the odds to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their illustrious hist
He wanted to win the Champions League.
The big European trophy was the one major honour missing from his collection having arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2003. The Russian owner spent the big bucks to transform the Blues into genuine heavyweights of the game, but no matter how close they d come, they just couldn t get over the line.
But that all changed back in 2012, in possibly the unlikeliest of seasons during his reign. A poor start to the campaign had seen Chelsea part ways with Andre-Villas Boas and appoint club legend Roberto Di Matteo in his place.
From there, the players had rallied, overturning a 3-1 away defeat to Napoli in the knockout round of the Champions League, before easing past Benfica to set up a mouthwatering semi-final against Barcelona.
Valdes signed for Manchester United in January 2014 on a free transfer, following his release by Barcelona the previous summer.
He had announced a year previously that he would depart Barca following the expiration of his contract, and had been due to sign for Monaco, but they pulled out after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament in March.
However, they agreed to pay part of his United salary and he moved to Old Trafford on an 18-month contract, ostensibly as a back-up to David De Gea.
Valdes initially appeared happy to be playing second fiddle to the young Spaniard, telling MUTV : Always in my career, I have played to help my team-mates, to help my coach and to help everybody. I am a part of the team.
16th April 2021
After Bobby Robson’s Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain in the 1997 Cup Winners’ Cup final, Pep Guardiola pointed at Jose Mourinho and embraced him with a big bear hug.
Guardiola was one of the finest players of his generation; Mourinho was a former school coach who had worked his way to the top. Their paths had crossed a decade and a half before they became sworn enemies, as colleagues and friends.
Six weeks after winning the Cup Winners’ Cup, Barcelona also claimed the Copa del Rey, and a 34-year-old Mourinho took to the microphone during the celebrations in the city, declaring to the fans: “Today, tomorrow, and always, I have Barcelona in my heart.”