Barcelona win Champions League

There was no controversy, no wailing at the referee, no-one to blame but themselves and nothing left to do except marvel at the sheer majesty of the opposition.

Manchester United's bid for unprecedented back-to-back Champions League titles was obliterated by the intricacy, speed and class of Barcelona.

Josep Guardiola - in his first season as manager - dispelled all the doubts about his side following two lacklustre performances in the semi-final against Chelsea by leading his side to the first ever treble by a Spanish club.

The style in which they accomplished this demolition was breath-taking to behold. United may have given the ball away cheaply and been bereft of ideas from the ninth minute onwards, but the speed of thought, fleet of foot and clinical precision of Barcelona's flair players was a treat.

Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi all turned in world class performances, putting Cristiano Ronaldo's over-eager runs and gesticulations into their proper context. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, so lauded this season on the domestic stage, looked frightened at the ceaseless new angles and ideas of the blue and burgundy players coming at them from all directions.

It was all a rather sobering experience for the hordes of United fans that had descended on the Italian capital, and for Sir Alex Ferguson who saw his hopes of matching Bob Paisley's three European titles smashed, for another season at least.

United are not used to losing, let alone being outclassed so embarrassingly. The manager's response to this will be intriguing. He was gracious enough to admit his side were outplayed in the post-match interview, but he might not be so benevolent when it comes to dealing with some of his players who played well below their capability tonight - Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney and Anderson to name but three.

What were your views on the Champions League final? Give us your reaction and player ratings using the boxes below.

From the Touchlines: Right or wrong for Wilko?

At lunchtime today, Jonny Wilkinson will officially be unveiled as a Toulon player in a ceremony at the town's All Seasons Hotel.

There's a sense of irony in the choice of location as arguably England's most celebrated player has hardly been a man for any seasons because of his horrific catalogue of injuries since kicking England to 2003 Rugby World Cup success.

But the real discussion point is whether this is the right or wrong move. There are those that argue that the time is right for Wilkinson, that he has showed more than enough loyalty to Newcastle and England and that the time has come for him to get a big pay day as younger men climb past him in the England pecking order. Take the money and run, they say.

Then there are those that believe Wilkinson should show continued loyalty to the English game that helped make him a star and put his foot down to make a stand as a host of big-name English players cross the Channel for lucrative deals. There is more to life than money. Plus there is the argument that by moving away from the Guinness Premiership, Wilkinson is effectively waving goodbye to any England chance.

What are your thoughts on Wilko's France move? Is it the right or wrong thing to do? And does he still have a future with England? Post your comments below...

Latest F1 gossip... Carlin Motorsport to join F1

Read the latest F1 gossip from our pit lane insider who claims another British team is planning on joining F1.

Add your own views on any F1 issue using the boxes below.

Latest transfer rumours (Sun May 31)

Orange's transfer gossip blog will provide your fix of tabloid tittle-tattle every morning through the summer. You can add your own rumours below.

- Manchester City believe they have sealed a double swoop for Manchester United's Carlos Tevez and Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry for a combined fee of £42m (News of the World)

- Carlo Ancelotti is set to confirm his switch from AC Milan to Chelsea this week and will immediately target £50m Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero (Mail on Sunday)

- Manchester United are eyeing Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who remains furious that Real Madrid chose not to register him for the Champions League (People)

- Barcelona have not given up hope of snatching Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal (Sunday Mirror)

- Steve Bruce wants to make Peter Crouch his first signing should he become the new manager at Sunderland (People)

Leeds have slapped a £7m price tag on hot shot Fabien Delph, with Everton rumoured to be interested (Sunday Mirror)

Have you heard any hot rumours on the grapevine? Spotted Michael Owen in your local chippy? Who should your club be buying in the summer? Have your say in the boxes below.

Button joins the greats

Jenson Button officially joined the list of all-time greats in F1 on Sunday with victory at the Monaco Grand Prix.

By winning his fifth race of the six so far this season, he joined an elite group of drivers to have previously achieved the feat. They are Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark, Sir Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher.

Button cannot claim to be on a par with any of those legends but by winning in such style in Monaco he must have surely finally silenced any of the doubters. Monaco is known as the great leveller of drivers, a circuit where the skills of the racer rather than their machinery tend to win the race. And Button's car control was, in short, stunning.

He won the GP from the start by looking after his super-soft tyres much better than team-mate Rubens Barrichello, and he looked like he used every inch of his driving nous to give none of his rivals a chance.

Straight afterwards he started to downplay talk of the championship but it must surely be his for the taking. The only hope is that he might finally get a challenger in the coming races, a challenge that now looks destined to come from Ferrari, who are on course to become the quickest car before the end of the season, if their recent progression is anything to go by.

What did you make of Jenson Button's Monaco drive? Does he deserve to now be called a great driver? Post your comments below...

From the Touchlines: England axe Cipriani

How on earth has Danny Cipriani gone from being England's boy wonder to, at best, their fifth-choice fly-half in the space of a few months?

Not long ago, the 21-year-old was being talked of as the ultimate successor to Jonny Wilkinson and the man to wear the England No.10 shirt for at least the next decade.

But on Tuesday, Martin Johnson announced his England squad to take on both Argentina and the Barbarians, and Cipriani was nowhere to be seen. Instead, relative journeyman Andy Goode and Leicester's Sam Vesty, who for much of the season was not even deemed good enough for the Tigers, get the nod. And then there's Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson, both of whom are injured but would certainly get a start ahead of Cipriani in Johnson's current thinking.

Johnson tried to put a positive spin on the decision, saying that the Wasps playmaker had come back too soon from injury and was playing well but not quite well enough. However, when the gathered media pressed him on Cipriani's unique talents, Johnno's telling response was "who says he's unique".

England's boss claims it is purely a rugby decision, but it seems difficult to know what more Cipriani can do. Certainly his form isn't what it was but he's deserving of a place in England's training squad as, with his undoubted talent, he remains the future at No.10.

What do you make of Danny Cipriani's absence from the England squad? Would you play him at No.10 for England or do you think Johnno's made the right call? Post your comments below...

Nelson's Column: Ashes XI

It's a case of the England selectors knowing their Onions as the seamer is chosen ahead of his Durham team-mate Steve Harmison for Wednesday's first Ashes Test in Cardiff.

That's got to be the right decision, despite Harmo's six-wicket haul for the England Lions against Australia at Worcester.

Graham Onions took five wickets on his Test debut at Lord's, including four in seven balls, and he impressed with his versatility in the second Test against West Indies at Chester-le-Street, where he found swing, bounce and enough aggression to suggest that he might be able to trouble the Aussies.

The only question now is whether England will opt to go with two spinners on what promisies to be a bit of a turner in Cardiff. If they do, Onions will have to give way to Monty Panesar, who is in the 13-man squad even though he has struggled to find form and wickets in the County Championship.

In fact Panesar's figures for Northamptonshire at Cardiff last month were a meagre 2 for 149, and the venue has only yielded 17 wickets for the spinners this season, out of a possible 120.

So logically Onions should complement the tried and tested attack of Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff, with Graeme Swann as the sole spinner.

The rest of the squad is pretty much as expected, although Ian Bell can count himself fortunate to be included after a less than impressive season so far.

National selector Geoff Miller is refusing to shut the door on Harmison, who will stake a stronger claim for the second Test at Lord's where his extra pace and bounce might come in handy.

As for Australia, their line-up is difficult to predict, particularly their bowling attack. Nathan Hauritz has been massacred by the England Lions, leading to rumours that four seam bowlers could be selected. Even if Australia did go down this route, the quartet is up for debate.

Brett Lee has probably sneaked in on the back of six wickets at Worcester, but Stuart Clark is short of overs and wickets, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus have no real experience of English conditions and Mitchell Johnson, a dead cert it seemed, disappeared all over New Road.

So here is the England squad: Strauss (capt), Cook, Bopara, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Prior (wk), Flintoff, Broad, Swann, Anderson, Onions, Panesar.

And here is our pick for the Aussies: Hughes, Katich, Ponting, Hussey, Clarke, North, Haddin, Lee, Johnson, Siddle, Clark.

What do you think of the England squad? Should it be Panesar or Onions in Cardiff? And what now for Harmison? Have your say in the boxes below.

F1 gossip column...Brawn backs Rubens

Read the latest F1 gossip from our pit lane insider who reveals that Bruno Senna is unlikely to replace Barrichello at Brawn GP.

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Latest transfer rumours (Sun May 24)

Orange's transfer gossip blog will provide your fix of tabloid tittle-tattle every morning through the summer. You can add your own rumours below.

Updated Sunday May 24

- David Beckham could be on his way to Chelsea with AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti hoping to take the midfielder with him in a switch to Stamford Bridge (Sunday Mirror)

- Chelsea are lining up bids for Atletico Madrid's £50m-rated Sergio Aguero and Wolfsburg's Edin Dzerko to replace Didier Drogba (News of the World)

- Cristiano Ronaldo reiterates his desire to stay at Man Utd, saying Sir Alex Ferguson is like a "second father to me" (News of the World)

- Texan Ellis Short will buy-out Sunderland next week and hand a new manager - Martin Jol or Steve McClaren - a whopping £200m transfer budget. (Sunday Express)

- Man City step up their interest in Emmanuel Adebayor and are ready to meet Arsene Wenger's £21m valuation (News of the World)

- Wigan are battling with Everton and Blackburn to sign Newcastle's Alan Smith (News of the World)

Have you heard any hot rumours on the grapevine? Spotted Didier Drogba in your local pub? Who should your club be buying in the summer? Have your say in the boxes below.

From the Touchlines: Quinlan misses out

Munster and Ireland flanker Alan Quinlan will miss the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa following a 12-week ban for alleged eye-gouging in the Heineken Cup semi-final against Leinster.

Lions boss Ian McGeechan is now likely to call up a replacement and number one on the list is Leicester's Tom Croft, who really should have boarded the plane to South Africa before Quinlan anyway.

But Croft is by no means guaranteed to grab a late call-up despite his versatility in both the second row and back row, with the likes of Wales' Ryan Jones also looming large on the horizon.

Jones is just one of many - Delon Armitage and Danny Care being two others - who can feel hard done by in missing out on the original squad, but shock absentee Gordon d'Arcy could yet sneak in as the injured Tom Shanklin's replacement.

Who would be your late Lions call-ups? Post your comments below...