Champions League final combined XI: Ousmane Dembele among eight PSG stars make the cut as Lautaro Martinez leads Inter absentees

Questions have been asked of Gigi Donnarumma since his arrival at PSG from AC Milan in 2021, and the Italian has certainly made his fair share of errors over the course of his time at Parc des Princes. However, there is no question that Luis Enrique's side would not have made it all the way to the Champions League final were it not for their goalkeeper's heroics through the knockout rounds.

Donnarumma's penalty-saving expertise was on full show against Liverpool in the last 16 before he pulled off a couple of magnificent saves at Villa Park in the quarter-finals as Aston Villa threatened to come all the way back from being 5-1 down on aggregate with a spirited second-leg fightback. Donnarumma saved his best for the semi-finals, however, as he pulled off four sublime stops over the two games against Arsenal to help secure a spot in Saturday's showpiece.

This is not to say Yann Sommer hasn't contributed to Inter's journey to Munich, with his own semi-final performance against Barcelona already the stuff of San Siro legend, but Donnarumma's consistently brilliant displays give him the edge here.

The best right-back in world football right now, Achraf Hakimi has continued to show just why so few of his peers can touch him with his performances over the course of the campaign. The Morocco international is able to match his defensive responsibilities with incisive attacking ability, marking him out as the ideal modern full-back.

His season tally of eight goals and 14 assists across all competitions includes strikes in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals of this Champions League run, and it remains one of the great mysteries as to why Real Madrid allowed him to leave the Spanish capital just under five years ago.

Despite opting for Hakimi here, Denzel Dumfries fans need not worry - there's more on him to come later...

One of the less-heralded names in PSG's squad, Willian Pacho has announced himself to a worldwide audience with his performances for the French champions during his debut season at Parc des Prince. Signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for £33.5 million ($45m) last summer, Pacho immediately forced his way into Luis Enrique's starting line up and has barely missed a match ever since.

As the inexperienced partner alongside Marquinhos at the heart of PSG's backline, the Ecuador international is generally targeted by opposition managers, but he has impressively held his own up against some of Europe's most feared strikers, with his aerial ability and composure both at an elite level. As such, he beats out his centre-back partner to a spot in our XI.

Whether it is due to the fact that he hasn't made a huge impact on international tournaments with Italy, or because Inter continue to be overlooked as a European power by pundits and fans alike, but Alessandro Bastoni rarely gets brought up as being one of the world's best centre-backs despite his consistent excellence for the Nerazzurri.

An elegant defender who has the ability to pick out outrageous passes with his cultured left foot, the 26-year-old is key to Simone Inzaghi's favoured 3-5-2 formation functioning at San Siro, and perhaps a strong display in Munich on Saturday will see Bastoni finally earn the respect he deserves. For now, he will have to make do with a spot in our combined team after beating out club-mate and semi-final hero Francesco Acerbi for a spot.

Since joining PSG from Sporting CP in the summer of 2022, Nuno Mendes has shown himself to be one of the most effective attacking full-backs in world football at Parc des Princes. That has continued into this season, too, during which he has scored four goals in the Champions League, including strikes in both legs of the quarter-final win over Aston Villa.

However, it is Mendes' defensive capabilities that have most caught the eye over the course of this campaign. The Portugal international locked down Mohamed Salah twice during the last-16 clash with Liverpool, while he also did an effective job in limiting Bukayo Saka's impact on the semi-final with Arsenal.

He does still have the occasional lapse, but since Federico Dimarco is still being untangled after being given the runaround by Lamine Yamal in Inter's own semi-final, Mendes has more than earned his spot in our XI.

Like Bastoni, Nicola Barella doesn't always get the plaudits he deserves outside of Italy, but there is no doubt that the Inter star is one of Europe's top midfielders - and has been for some time. A metronomic passer who puts himself about defensively when required, Barella is the player who makes the Nerazzuri tick.

His attacking output doesn't leap off the page - he has provided just three goals and eight assists over the course of the 2024-25 campaign - but Barella tends to save his best for the biggest moments, and it wouldn't be a shock to see him leave his mark on Saturday's final. As such, he just beats out opposite number Fabian Ruiz in our selection.

One of the signings of the season, Joao Neves has been worth every penny of the £59m ($76m) that PSG paid to bring him in from Benfica last summer having established himself as one of the most effective holding midfielder in European football during his debut campaign in France.

A destructive force who also shows quality when finds himself in possession, it's scary to think that Neves is still only 20 and has the potential to become a cornerstone of this PSG side for at least the next decade. It shouldn't be forgotten, either, that he scored one of the most crucial goals of PSG's season when he put them 3-2 up against Manchester City in a do-or-die league-phase fixture, and thus he beats out Hakan Calhanoglu for us.

Vitinha's forgettable loan spell at Wolves back in 2021 feels like a long time ago now. For the second-straight season, the Portuguese has showed himself to be one of the very best midfielders around with his performances in a PSG shirt.

Vitinha dictates the tempo of the French champions' play while his passing range is almost unparalleled in the modern game. He could still add a few more goals to his game if we are being picky, but when it came to selecting this team, choosing him over Henrikh Mkhitaryan was a pretty straightforward decision.

Picking a right winger for our Champions League combined XI was perhaps the toughest call to make. We could have gone with Bradley Barcola, who heads to Munich with 39 combined goals and assists under his belt for PSG this season. There is also Desire Doue to consider after the teenager produced some electrifying displays during his debut season at Parc des Princes, particularly in the European knockout rounds.

But in the end, we had to get Dumfries in somewhere after a campaign of buccaneering performances at wing-back for Inter. His five goal involvements during the semi-final victory over Barcelona capped what has been the Netherlands international's best-ever individual campaign, and Mendes will have a tough time trying to stop him when the two meet on Saturday.

You'd have got long odds on Ousmane Dembele winning the Ballon d'Or back at the start of the season, but the France forward goes into Saturday's final as the favourite to claim the Golden Ball after a remarkable 2025 thus far. Dembele has scored 24 of his career-best 33 goals for the season since the turn of the year, with his tally including winners at Anfield and the Emirates Stadium during this Champions League run.

Luis Enrique has got the best out of the Barcelona flop by converting him from a winger to a No.9 with the freedom to move out wide within games, and it's been a joy to watch one of the best talents of the past decade finally return on his potential. For that reason, he gets into our line up ahead of Inter talisman Lautaro Martinez.

The only man to have contributed to two title wins within Europe's 'Big Five' leagues this season, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia can crown another strong campaign with a Champions League winners' medal on Saturday. After something of a down season in 2023-24, the Georgian has been back to his thrilling best this time around, especially since his £59m ($72m) January move to PSG.

It can certainly be argued that Kvaratskhelia needs to contribute more goals if he is to permanently establish himself as one of the best wide forwards of his generation, but he has still done enough over the course of the campaign to edge Marcus Thuram out of our combined team.