Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo admitted Manchester United were beaten by the better side in Rome last night.
United's hopes of becoming the first side to successfully defend the trophy since it was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992 were crushed by Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men simply had no answer to the Catalans' class once Samuel Eto'o had prodded them into a 10th-minute lead.
The margin of victory could have been even greater than Lionel Messi's second-half effort helped them achieve, with Rooney conceding the final 2-0 score line did not flatter Barca.
"It is a big disappointment but Barcelona were the better team," said Rooney. "Barcelona scored two good goals and unfortunately for us, they came at good times. That made it very difficult for us."
United had no answer to the craft of Xavi, the guile of Messi and the direct running of Eto'o and Thierry Henry, who was making amends for defeat in the final against Barcelona with Arsenal four years ago.
But it was Andres Iniesta who ran the show as far as Rooney was concerned.
"Barcelona are a brilliant team and in my opinion Andres Iniesta is the best player in the world," he said.
"Against a team like that if you don't take your chances, they will punish you. That is what happened.
"It is very disappointing and the feeling at the moment is not a good one. We are hurting, but we have to forget it and look forward to next season."
Having clinched a third successive Premier League title and the Club World Cup and Carling Cup in addition to becoming the first side since 1997 to reach the final a year after winning the Champions League, United can still take plenty of positives out of their distress.
However, for the likes of Ronaldo, defeat left a bitter taste.
"This is one of the biggest disappointments of my career," he said. "We were always confident before the game but unfortunately we couldn't do it."
Speculation is now bound to surface once more about whether the 24-year-old has played his final game for the Old Trafford outfit.
It was not a subject up for discussion as Ronaldo assessed the defeat.
"It is always bad when you lose a final," said Ronaldo, "but we didn't play well. We did OK in the first 10 minutes but you have to say Barcelona deserved to win."
The win means Barcelona will be Europe's representative in the Fifa Club World Cup to be played in Abu Dhabi in December.
* PA Sport
Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE%20SPECS
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Company%20profile
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Christopher Robin
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Haley Atwell, Jim Cummings, Peter Capaldi
Three stars
