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#3 Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique is arguably one of the best central defenders of the last decade. Barely a year after leaving United, he had established himself as a regular in Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side. In the 2009 UEFA Champions League final, Pique was instrumental in keeping United’s attackers at bay.
His first meaningful contribution was just three minutes into the match. After Victor Valdez had parried the ball from Ronaldo’s free kick, Pique made a crucial block to deny Park Ji-Sung who was poised to score on the rebound.
In the end, United just had two shots on target from 11 attempts which was a testament to the Spanish side’s well-balanced defensive setup. Barcelona went on to seal the match 2-0 as Pique scooped back-to-back winners’ medal. It was more of the same script during the 2011 final that Pique played in as Barcelona had a whopping 68% possession and limited United to just one shot on target from four attempts at goal.
