Go now, Alex, or face sad decade

Surely the word he was really looking for was 'traumatised'.

Because as long as Man of the Match Messi is wearing the Barca shirt, the best United can ever hope for is to be Europe's bridesmaids.

Messi is only 23. He has played 54 games this season, scored 53 goals and looked fresh as a daisy. He never seems to get injured and could have another 10 years at the top.

The Argentine is supported by the brilliance of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, who also have a few years left in them.

So was this not a good time for Fergie to bow out? He has had a magnificent managerial career and there was no shame in losing a Champions League final to possibly the greatest club side of all time.

Fergie will be in his 80s when Messi hangs up his boots and that is a hell of a lot of frustration ahead.

When the camera panned to the United boss as his team were being run ragged, he was visibly shaking. Yet, amazingly, the tough-nut Scot is planning ahead to knock Barca off their lofty perch.

He has finally done it to Liverpool by claiming a 19th domestic league title and will not rest easy until he has done it to the Catalan kings of Europe.

When it was suggested United can never match Barca, 69-year-old Fergie said: "You shouldn't be afraid of a challenge. It's no consolation being the second-best team. I don't enjoy being second-best. Next season we must improve even more."

So on he goes into his 26th year in charge at Old Trafford, to the astonishment of Barca coach Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola will quit next summer after just four years at the helm because he thinks his players will get tired of hearing the same message from the same bloke.

What, like 'Go out and win the Champions League again, lads!'

For 10 minutes on Saturday night, United did what Arsenal's Jack Wilshere had told them to do in SunSport. They got in Barca's faces.

It was similar to how they began against the same opponents in Rome in 2009, when they also ended up losing.

They chased, they harried, they gave Barca no time on the ball and forced them into errors. But Guardiola's men soaked it up, let United run themselves out, then got on with systematically picking them apart.

After a nightmare week off the field for 37-year-old Ryan Giggs, he got a monstering on it.

Giggs and Michel Carrick in central midfield were simply bypassed and Fergie knows how vital it is to find the right mix in that engine room. Luka Modric of Tottenham is top of his shopping list - and he needs him.

Xavi ran free far too often and it was his exquisite pass on 27 minutes which teed up Pedro for Barca's opener - sidefooted home as United skipper Nemanja Vidic came sliding across in vain.

It was rather a shock when United equalised seven minutes later but what a goal it was. Wayne Rooney collected, ran forward, played it to Giggs, got it back from the Welshman and curled a cracker beyond Victor Valdes.

The debate afterwards was whether any of the United side would have got into Barca's line-up. Rooney was the only candidate as far as the foreign media were concerned.

Yet Rooney had to spend too much time tracking back, helping out his overworked team-mates, when United really wanted him in the other half doing some damage.

Though they had pulled level, you never got the feeling United would win it unless they scrambled through to penalties.

Barca did not look worried either and when veteran Edwin Van der Sar, playing his last game at 40, saved with his feet from Daniel Alves and Messi's follow-up was headed over by Patrice Evra, the signs were ominous.

Sure enough, Messi put Barca back in front in the 54th minute.

Messi was allowed a clear run towards the penalty area without being closed down and, while he powered in a fierce shot from 20 yards, it was more towards the middle of the goal than the corner.

Even so, Van der Sar failed to get a hand on it and the ball curled away from his dive.

United's defence simply pointed at each other, playing the blame game. There was no way back for United and Fergie's attempt to shake it up by bringing on Nani with 21 minutes left in a bid to add some attacking inspiration actually sealed their fate.

Nani was immediately caught cold on the flank as Messi sped past the Portuguese winger. Nani recovered and seemed to have won the ball back, only for it to bounce into the path of David Villa, who planted an absolute belter into the top corner.

United did not even have the default option of accusing the referee of costing them the game by his incompetence. They were beaten by pure football and, to their credit, stood and applauded as Eric Abidal lifted the trophy.

Less than three months ago, Abidal had a cancerous tumour removed from his liver. The fact he is alive, let alone playing again so soon, is one of football's most heart-warming stories.

In such circumstances, it was hard for United to feel sorry for themselves.