Sports Mole's all-time Champions League XI: Messi, Ronaldo, Maldini

This time around, a whole different format will be introduced, with the group stage being scrapped in favour of a new, exciting league phase, in the aim of more bigger clubs facing off in the early stages, and with more jeopardy on later matches.

Each team now plays two additional matches at this stage, providing more opportunity for players to shine, break records and compete with the very best, which we have become accustomed to over the past few decades.

Here, Sports Mole compiles the greatest Champions League XI since the competition was revamped in 1992.

GK: Petr Cech

One of the most competitive areas in this squad was in goal, but Chelsea legend Petr Cech edges it on the basis that he virtually single-handedly won the Blues their first Champions League crown in 2012.

Facing Bayern Munich in their own backyard at the Allianz Arena, Cech saved Arjen Robben's injury-time penalty, before also denying Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinstiger in the shootout, handing Didier Drogba the chance to win the cup in which he duly obliged.

While the likes of Manuel Neuer and Iker Casillas have had exceptional UCL careers, Cech's defining moment combined with reaching another final in 2008, where he saved a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, outweighs any of their individual performances, while the iconic Gianluigi Buffon's failure to ever win the competition also sees him miss out.

(Honourable mentions: Manuel Neuer, Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon)

DF: Franco Baresi

While the Champions League has witnessed numerous world-class full-backs such as Cafu, Dani Alves and Roberto Carlos, a back three will be used for this XI, starting with one of AC Milan's one-club men Franco Baresi.

Baresi already enjoyed success before the Champions League changed to its new name, winning the European Cup in 1989 and 1990, but he was also a crucial cog in the Milan side which reached three consecutive finals in its early days.

Even though only one of those finals ended in success, there is no disputing Baresi's place in this side, as he is always rightfully regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time.

DF: Sergio Ramos

Few players embody the modern Real Madrid more than their ex-captain Sergio Ramos, who was pivotal in the club's unparalleled success throughout the 2010s.

The Spanish defender won the trophy four times in five seasons between 2013-2014 and 2017-2018, captaining Los Blancos to glory on three occasions, while also playing a huge individual part in many of those successes.

It was Ramos's 93rd-minute equaliser in the 2014 final that forced extra time against Atletico Madrid, and he also scored in the 2016 final against the same opponents, winning the Man of the Match award in both games, becoming only the fifth player to score in two separate finals, and the first non-attacker.

DF: Paolo Maldini

Milan great Paolo Maldini was coolness personified, as the versatile leader was another hugely successful one-club man like the aforementioned Baresi.

Maldini partnered Baresi to European Cup success in 1989 and 1990 and UCL glory in 1994, but would go on to win further honours long after the rebrand, well into his late 30s, captaining the Rossoneri to the crown in 2003 and 2007.

Despite the disastrous collapse in the 2005 final against Liverpool, Maldini also became the oldest final goalscorer at the age of 36, when he netted the quickest-ever final goal inside the first minute in Istanbul.

(Honourable mentions: Carles Puyol, Alessandro Nesta)

RM: Gareth Bale

Given Real Madrid's near-monopoly on the Champions League over the past 10 years, it is no surprise that so many of that squad feature here, and Gareth Bale was one of the players brought in just as Los Blancos began their dominance.

After putting Real ahead in extra time of the 2014 final, Bale would also convert his penalty in the shootout on the way to claiming the trophy again in 2016, before winning it in his hometown of Cardiff 12 months later.

Bale's defining night came in Kyiv in 2018 though, as a man-of-the-match performance saw the Welshman score arguably the greatest goal in the competition's history with an audacious overhead kick to beat Liverpool's Loris Karius, before adding another late on to make sure of the victory.

(Honourable mentions: Zvonomir Boban, Luis Figo)

CM: Luka Modric & Toni Kroos

Like they had done for almost a decade in the midfield of Real Madrid, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos go into this team together as the greatest partnership the competition has ever seen.

One cannot talk about one player without mentioning the other, and even though Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta were part of possibly the finest club team of all time, the longevity of this pair gives them the edge.

Kroos won the UCL with Bayern in 2013, and was not at Real for their 2014 success, but once the German arrived at the Bernabeu, he and Modric set out on completing football in a dizzying decade of unprecedented success.

The 2018 triumph contributed to Modric winning the Ballon d'Or, and even with a combined age of 72, the midfield pair added a sixth Champions League title each to their respective collections when beating Borussia Dortmund in June 2024.

(Honourable mentions: Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Andrea Pirlo, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka)

LM: Andres Iniesta

At least one of the midfielders from that breathtaking Barcelona team under Pep Guardiola had to make the grade here, and Andres Iniesta just gets the nod, thanks mainly to his phenomenal man-of-the-match performance in the 2015 final.

The most decorated Spanish footballer of all time really came to prominence after coming on at half time in the final of 2006 when Barcelona came from behind to beat Arsenal, but it was his performances under Guardiola that linger in the memory.

Barca mesmerised audiences with their tiki-taka football that led to Champions League glory in 2009 and 2011, beating Manchester United on both occasions, with the latter success often referred to as the best team performance ever seen from a club side, and as Xavi neared the end of his time at the club, Iniesta stepped up again with another masterclass in Berlin in the 2015 final.

(Honourable mentions: Clarence Seedorf, Ryan Giggs, Roberto Carlos)

FW: Lionel Messi

The debate will go on forever between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but both rightfully have their place in this XI, and the Barcelona legend was the star of the show in that famous Guardiola team.

A four-time winner and six-time top scorer, Messi scored 129 goals in 163 Champions League games, one of which is regarded as the best solo goal of all time, away to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the 2011 semi-final, when the little magician dribbled half the length of the pitch, beating the entire opposing defence before rolling the ball past Casillas.

Messi was also the man for the big occasion in the showpiece event, scoring against Man United in the 2009 and 2011 finals, before linking up with Luis Suarez and Neymar to win the title again in 2015 as part of one of the most-feared attacking trios of all time.

FW: Cristiano Ronaldo

Messi's big rival on the pitch Cristiano Ronaldo also takes his place in the squad, as the greatest goalscorer the Champions League, and arguably football itself, has ever seen, with 140 goals in 183 matches in the competition.

The ratio looks even more remarkable when narrowed down to just his time at Real Madrid, as Ronaldo managed 105 goals in 101 appearances, ending as the competition's top scorer on seven separate occasions, including breaking the record for most goals in one season - 17 in 2013-14.

The five-time winner spearheaded Real's Champions League successes, scoring in the 2013 and 2017 finals, while converting the winning penalty in the 2016 shootout success over Atletico, but the Portuguese legend won his first way back in 2008, when he also scored in the final for Manchester United, before the Red Devils won on penalties in Moscow.

FW: Karim Benzema

Without Karim Benzema, there is no chance Ronaldo would have racked up the amount of goals he did in the Champions League for Real Madrid, that is how selfless the Frenchman was when the two linked up for many years in the Spanish capital.

Benzema has 29 Champions League assists, many of which were for Ronaldo, and that combination play had a huge impact in the striker winning his first four UCL honours, the latter of which saw him open the scoring with one of the most farcical final goals ever witnessed against Liverpool in 2018.

Even while playing second-fiddle often, Benzema is still the fourth-highest scorer in the competition's history with 90, as the 2021-22 season saw him move from a false nine to a central striker to fire Real to glory without Ronaldo, scoring 15 goals across the campaign - leading to a Ballon d'Or win.

(Honourable mentions: Robert Lewandowski, Raul, Thierry Henry, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Alessandro Del Piero, Erling Haaland)

Greatest Champions League XI