Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund LIVE: Champions League final build-up, team news, line-ups and more

The description many another would apply to Jude Bellingham is one he bestows upon a teammate. “The best in the world,” he said of Vinicius Jr in May. And October. Carlo Ancelotti agrees; as the Italian is the diplomat supreme, it was unlikely to cause ructions in the Real Madrid dressing room when he nominated the winger, even though he overlooked Bellingham in the process.

And if the Brazilian could prove a more controversial choice again next season, when Kylian Mbappe will surely be added to the list of Real’s candidates, for now Vinicius is the 21st-century boy who could finally deliver the Ballon d’Or to the next generation.

Which, as the last 15 have been won by players born in either 1985 (in Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric) or 1987 (Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema), would represent a changing of the guard. And if Vinicius is not the eventual winner, it may be because Euro 2024 allows someone else – potentially Mbappe or Bellingham – to seize the limelight, though Brazil have their own summer tournament at the Copa America.

The official end of the season for Europe’s elite comes on Saturday with the Uefa Champions League final, contested this year between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

While the German giants certainly have pedigree and one European Cup to their name from 1997, it’s Los Blancos who are the behemoths, true royalty of the game as far as wins in this tournament go – they are the record holders with 14 titles, 17 finals overall and five wins since Dortmund’s last final, which was in 2013.

Coincidentally, that one was at Wembley too – they were beaten by Bayern Munich on that occasion, with Real Madrid in turn knocking out Bayern in this semis this year.

Florentino Perez couldn’t have it any other way. On Monday, after a Spanish court gave the latest ruling on the Super League case, those in the Real Madrid president’s circle were very quick to insist to everyone that the judgment actually represented a victory for the project. This was despite virtually every legal expert considering the outcome meaningless.

Uefa currently sees no real threat from this iteration of the Super League. You just wouldn’t have guessed that from the response in Spain, where it was roundly portrayed as yet another victory for Perez. This is what he has become used to, his ambitions almost willed into existence.

You only have to look at European football’s current landscape, one that now looks set to be dominated by Real Madrid for a decade. It makes it all the more of a wonder why Perez is seeking to destroy it through the Super League.

This Saturday, Madrid expect to win their 15th Champions League. That would be more than double AC Milan’s seven, the next most successful club, who have been left for dust by the greater winds of football history.