Barca are Champions!

And so Barcelona are now European champions for the third time (the second time at the expense of an English club if you're counting) although they might as well have been crowned world champions after their display last night.

To say that United were second best would be an understatement. United were outplayed, lacklustre and bereft of that spirit they're so famous for. Sir Bobby Charlton may claim the current Man U squad is the club's best ever. The truth is the squads that won it in 1999 and 2008 would have given Barcelona a much tougher fight.

And interestingly enough, the squad that showed in Rome yesterday comprised largely of the same group of individuals who won it last season. The only difference is that the Cristiano Ronaldo in Moscow last year was a lot different than the one who cut a frustrated attention-seeking figure last night. Last night's performance should be enough for Ferguson to let Ronaldo go to Real Madrid this summer.

But let's take anything away from a Barcelona team who, despite some shambolic defending in the opening minutes, made a statement to the world that short passing attacking football is still the best way to play football. So confident and excellent was their passing abilities that they made the Devils look like an amateur side getting their first lesson in professional football.

Iniesta was sublime while Xavi Hernandez was as fantastic as ever. Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry were a constant threat. And then there was Lionel Messi.

Last night's final, no matter on United and Barcelona say, was always going to be about Messi and Ronaldo. It was not just a match to determine who the best team in the world is but the who the best player is? The question as to whether Ronaldo truly deserves to be called Fifa player of the year was finally going to be answered.

And it was pretty obvious that last question has been nagging the Portuguese star for some time. The second the match began, Ronaldo seemed to be on a personal mission. He attacked Barcelona's already fragile defence with ruthlessness that was never on display in the Premier League this season. If people were unsure as to who the real world player of the year is then he was going remove all doubts.

Messi in contrast seemed uninterested in proving a point to anybody and began playing deep to get Barcelona's passing movement going. And once it began flowing, Messi was a complete menace everytime he got the ball. As for his dribbling skills, which gave United's defence a torrid time, let's just say Ronaldo's step-overs started looking amateurish.

That difference in attitude made all the difference. Ronaldo's desire to prove something to the world made him selfish in front of goal and had he passed the ball, things may have been different. But in his defense, Rooney and Giggs were so out of depth it would have been a waste of time anyway.

Messi on the other hand was committed to his team and never once seemed selfish although at some points it seemed as though the Argentinean would have been able to dribble past the entire Man U team if he wanted to. And that perhaps is the marking of the best footballer in the world.