Lionel Messi, Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 to win Champions League soccer title

Barcelona, led by Lionel Messi, beat Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday to earn its third Champions League title in six seasons and No. 4 overall.
"Lionel is the best player I've seen and probably the best I'll ever see," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said.
Messi conjured up a 54th-minute solo strike from the edge of the penalty area as the Spanish team took the lead for the second time. The Argentine striker later assisted on David Villa's goal before 87,695 at London's Wembley Stadium.
"They mesmerize you with their passing, and we never did control Messi," United's Alex Ferguson said. "In my time as manager, it's the best team I've faced."
Barcelona's Pedro Rodriguez scored midway through the first half before United's Wayne Rooney tied it in the 34th minute.
Michael Arroyo's goal in the 37th minute helped Ecuador tie Mexico 1-1 before 50,305 at Seattle's Qwest Field. Mexico's Jorge Torres Nilo scored in the seventh minute.
Mohamed bin Hammam withdrew from FIFA's presidential election after being accused of corruption. The Qatari challenger to incumbent Sepp Blatter had been accused of seeking to bribe voters on a campaign visit to the Caribbean. Bin Hammam, Blatter and FIFA vice president Jack Warner will face an ethics hearing Sunday in Geneva. The election was set for Wednesday.

Meet the man in the middle for the Champions League final - Viktor Kassai

Since first setting his heart on refereeing, Viktor Kassai has broken numerous records due to the speed of his rise to the top, and tonight he will become the youngest man ever to take charge of a Champions League final when Barcelona face Manchester United at Wembley.

His selection for this evening's showpiece clash, which was announced on Thursday, comes after a serious of lauded displays both in the Champions League this season and in last summer's World Cup finals. And he has beaten off the challenge of other more noted and more experienced officials off the back of some excellent performances.

"A Champions League final is an absolutely top match, so we can expect a celebration of football," Kassai said to Uefa.com.

"I hope all the spectators in the stadium and watching on TV will enjoy the match, and I hope it'll be a nice game."

Kassai passed his refereeing exams in June 1990 at the age of just 14, and less than three years later he was officiating in Hungarian football's fourth tier. It wasn't long before his qualities were being utilised at the highest domestic level either, as he became the youngest man to take charge of an NB1 match at the age of just 23 in a game between Zalaegerszeg and BVSC.

By 25, the sales manager refereed his first international match in the Uefa Regions Cup in Eastern Slovakia and by 2005 he was being selected by higher profile international tournaments. In 2008 he was on the reserve list for the European Championships, and his biggest achievement to date came later that year when he was given the chance to lead out the sides in the Olympic final between Argentina and Nigeria. His reputation continued to flourish, and last year he was chosen to officiate at the World Cup in South Africa, where he oversaw four fixtures, including the semi-final between Germany and Spain.

In the Hungarian League, the showpiece game of the season between Ujpest and Ferencvaros, dubbed as the ‘Hungarian Derby’, is always officiated by Kassai nowadays as his ability is considered to be far in advance of anything else on offer in the country. The Hungarian Derby is always a tasty affair, but with Kassai’s calm and assurance, the games always seem to run freely, with things very rarely getting tipped over the edge.

UEFA Champions League Final, 2011: Viktor Kassai Appointed Referee

UEFA announced today that 35-year-old Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai has been selected to referee the 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Kassai has been a FIFA referee since 2003 and is widely considered to be a world class official.

Kassai was the referee in the 2010 World Cup semifinal game between Spain and Germany, which had about as little referee controversy as any game I can remember from the World Cup. His other career highlight is refereeing the 2008 Olympic gold medal match. Englishman Howard Webb was the referee in last year's Champions League final and the World Cup final, but seeing as Manchester United is an English club, Webb is ineligible to referee this match.

Kassai has called three Manchester United matches in his career, all resulting in wins for United. The most recent one of those was a match against Valencia at the Mestalla in the Champions League group stages, in which Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez scored a stoppage time winner in a 1-0 win over Los Che.

For news, opinion, and feature articles leading up to the UEFA Champions League final, bookmark this StoryStream and check it often. We'll have new posts right here throughout the week, during the game, and after the game. For more on the entire world of footy, check out SB Nation Soccer. Manchester United fans should head over to The Busby Babe, while Barcelona fans should check out Barca Blaugranes.