Barcelona's former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has great admiration for Champions League opponents Manchester United.
Mascherano is relishing just being involved in this weekend's showpiece event at Wembley and believes the encounter will be one to remember.
"It's a Champions League final - it's special anyway," he said.
"Playing against United doesn't make it more special for me, but I played against them lots of times and in general terms they are a very strong team.
"Their defence has two centre-backs, [Nemanja] Vidic and [Rio] Ferdinand, that offer many guarantees and have huge quality.
"In general they are a great team and the statistics show that: in the last four years they have got to three Champions League finals and won three leagues. They are one of the best teams in the world today."
Mascherano also hailed United's Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.
"You know that when you play a final, especially against a team like United, that you're playing against some of the best strikers in the world," he said.
"Rooney and Chicharito have enormous quality."
