Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff has attacked English football ahead of his old club facing Manchester United in the Champions League final.

The Dutchman who served Barcelona both as player and European Cup-winning coach, said: "However much English teams reach finals or semi-finals, I'm sorry, I do not buy it. And I don't buy it because of the players they have out on the pitch, rather than because of the style they adopt.

"The vast majority of them have been brought in from abroad. There are very, very few Englishmen playing in the big English clubs.

"You only have to look at the Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United squads to realise that. The English national team - missing out on the last European Championships - and football in general suffers as a result of them signing so many foreign players. Doing this weakens the competition because it is impossible for every player they sign to play."

Manchester United won the treble in 1999 with a core of homegrown talent but next Wednesday in Rome it will be Barcelona trying to scoop their third trophy of the season with a side full of locally produced players.