Messi makes UCL team despite his absence in the final

With the Champions League final upon us, broadcasting giants BT Sport have announced their own team of the tournament as Real Madrid and Liverpool prepare for their showdown.

The two European giants meet in Kiev on Saturday night looking to land yet another European crown, with Los Blancos aiming for a third consecutive triumph to create history.

As seen in the tweet below, many of the names included in the XI have certainly earned their place with both Liverpool and Madrid naturally well represented having made it to the season finale.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, James Milner and Mohamed Salah make up the Reds contingent, while Sergio Ramos, Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo represent the defending champions.

However the majority of the focus was centred on the inclusion of Barcelona icon Lionel Messi who was selected up front.

The 30-year-old enjoyed another strong tournament, scoring six goals and providing two assists in 10 appearances.

Nevertheless, the Catalan giants were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Roma, who despite impressing with Edin Dzeko scoring eight goals and providing five assists in 12 outings, don’t have a single name that makes the line-up.

That’s not even mentioning either Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino who have both been highly influential for Liverpool, and so when considering alternative options, there is a strong argument to make that they are more deserving than Messi.

Barcelona fans will likely disagree for the most part but ultimately whoever the panel were, has voted for the Argentine international to take his place in the team of the tournament. Similarly with Man Utd and David De Gea crashing out at the last-16 stage, it’s debatable as to whether the Spaniard did enough to warrant a place in the team too with Alisson shining for Roma to emerge as one possible alternative.