Real Madrid stars Benzema, Alaba and Bale train for Champions League final - in pictures

Real Madrid are preparing for their fifth Champions League final in nine years when they face Liverpool in Paris on Saturday night - and their manager Carlo Ancelotti is chasing another record.

The Italian is the first coach to win the European Cup three times with two different clubs and is on the verge of leapfrogging Bob Paisley and Zinedine Zidane to become the first to win it four times.

Real's David Alaba is also hungry for more success – when the Spanish giants were crowned La Liga champions last month it was the Austria defender's 11th successive league title.

After winning 27 trophies, including 10 Bundesliga and two Champions League titles with Bayern Munich, the 29-year-old joined Real last year and will again play in Europe's elite club competition final.

“I live to be successful,” he said ahead of the showpiece match at the Stade de France. “We live to play in games like the Champions League final and all the knockout stages that we won against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City.

“This is what we love and this is our motivation as high level players. At the biggest stage you have to have that hunger to be successful.

“From the very first day in Madrid you really feel the atmosphere and the culture in here, that this is the biggest club in the world.

“It's about the history that this club have written, so much success for decades, and you want to write your own chapter. Living here is really special.

“The culture is to have characters who always want to compete every single day, that want to be the best you can be. And this is what we are doing every single day here. We work very hard to be the best at the end of the day.”

Alaba, who missed Real's last six games due to a leg muscle injury