Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho: Rio Ferdinand's all-time Champions League XI

Nostalgia and the only increasing quality of football with each passing year makes fantasy finals and all-time XIs harder and harder to pick.

The Champions League is centre stage for European football’s main event stars to steal the show and take all the headlines, aiming for perhaps the most prestigious piece of silverware on offer.

From Ronaldinho rubbing his hands and David Beckham standing over a dead ball, to Lionel Messi slaloming through dozens of players with ease, and Luka Modric splitting open defences like a hot knife through butter. Those big European nights are endlessly special, no matter the year, and it makes picking a team of 11 players incredibly difficult.

Rio Ferdinand reached the summit with Manchester United, winning the tournament in 2008 and making the final on further two occasions. And had he not come up against arguably the greatest club football side ever in Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, he might’ve had an astounding three Champions Leagues to his name. Not bad going, that.

Speaking to Joe Cole for BT Sport ahead of the 2021/22 semi-finals, Ferdinand was tasked with piecing together his all-time Champions League XI. Let’s have a look at who he picked and what he had to say – and then have a big argument about his decisions.

Ferdinand said: “Judging goalkeepers for me, it’s do they transpire that calmness and confidence through the team? And our back four were always calmer when he was in the goal. He wasn’t someone you’d look at and think ‘oh he’d made unbelievable saves today’, he was just there, made saves and he made them comfortably. Right positioning, great with both feet.”

Ferdinand said: “Big games, big moments, scorer of a load of goals for a centre-half as well, and he’s a leader. He’s