TEAM NEWS: Berbatov not even on the bench as Rooney & Chicharito start for Manchester United in Champions League final against Barcelona

Sir Alex Ferguson has left Dimitar Berbatov – the Premier League’s joint top goalscorer – out of his match squad for the Champions League final against Barcelona.

The Bulgarian  -who was a losing finalist with Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 – before being beaten by today’s opponents in the 2009 final, has suffered yet more Champions League final heartbreak with his omission from Saturday’s match squad.

Wayne Rooney partners Javier Hernandez in attack for Manchester United, with the Mexican having scored more goals in Europe than any of Red Devils’ player this season.

Meanwhile, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs get the nod to suppress Pep Guardiola’s formidable three-man midfield of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, while Nani will have to make do with a place on the substitute’s bench at Wembley.

This means that Darren Fletcher – who was suspended for the 2009 clash with Barca – only makes the bench following his return to the first team after recovering from a mysterious virus.

With his fitness having looked suspect during their pre-match training sessions on Friday, Guardiola has made the call to omit captain Carles Puyol from the starting line-up, with the Spanish World Cup winner making for Javier Mascherano.

In what will be an extremely emotional night for Eric Abidal – who only recently recovered from a life-treating tumour – the French defender starts in European football’s showpiece event.

Barcelona Starting XI: Valdes; Alves, Pique, Masch, Abidal; Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta; Pedro, Messi, Villa.

Substitutes: Oier, Puyol, Keita, Adriano, Thiago, Afellay, Bojan.

Manchester United Starting XI: Van der Sar; Fabio, Ferdinand, Vidic Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Park; Rooney Hernandez.

Substitutes: Kuszczak, Smalling, Fletcher, Scholes, Anderson, Nani, Owen

Full report to follow…