'I will rip up his contract!' - Sir Alex Ferguson's message to Manchester United players after winning 2008 Champions League

Having already won the Premier League title, Manchester United arrived in Moscow in May 2008 knowing a victory over Premier League rivals Chelsea in the Champions League final would mark an incredibly successful season. It had already been an excellent campaign for United, but Sir Alex Ferguson was desperate to win his second European crown.

The Reds had spent the entirety of the league season competing with Chelsea, and it came down to the final day of the campaign to decide the 2007/08 Premier League champions. Ultimately, it was Ferguson's side who got the job done against Wigan, and a last-minute equaliser from Bolton against the Blues at Stamford Bridge ensured United's title win did not have to be decided by goal difference.

Fittingly, the Champions League final clash was the first ever all-English final in the competition. Both sides were confident of lifting the trophy in the the Luzhniki Stadium, but United - having failed to win the tournament for nine years - were desperate to return to England victorious.

Given the magnitude of the clash, there was a competitive mood within the squad ahead of the game. With a number of strong personalities in the group - all of whom were obsessed with winning - it will not come as a surprise that training was often intense - and sometimes threatened to boil over.

When asked about whether Ferguson had given a special team talk before kick-off, Owen Hargreaves - who started the final - admitted tensions were high in the build-up to the encounter with Chelsea.

"He didn't need to, he knew the boys were ready," he told beIN Sport. "I remember we did a training game in the stadium in Moscow the day before and we almost had a fight amongst the two teams because the training game