Either Lautaro Martinez or Julian Alvarez will join an elite list of players to have won the Champions League and World Cup in the same season.
The strikers both won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina in December 2022 out in Qatar, following a thrilling final against France. It was the first time since 1986 that the Albiceleste won the competition.
Martinez and Alvarez will now go head-to-head in the 2023 Champions League final, representing Inter Milan and Man City, respectively. The 25-year-old Martinez will have an important role to play for the Italian side, while Alvarez will probably start on the bench behind star forward Erling Haaland.
The Sporting News looks at the other players who have won the Champions League and World Cup in the same season.
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Players who won Champions League and World Cup in same season
There are nine players who have previously won the Champions League and World Cup in the same season.
The most recent player to achieve this was Raphael Varane, winning the European competition with Real Madrid and lifting the World Cup with France in 2018.
Five players incredibly won both tournaments in 1974, as Bayern Munich were victorious in the European Cup while West Germany beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the World Cup final.
Once Martinez or Alvarez win the Champions League, they will be the first player to win both competitions having not played for neither Bayern nor Real Madrid. It will also be the first time that a player has won a World Cup before the Champions League in a season due the international tournament occurring in December for the first time.
| Year | Player | Club (Champions League) | Country (World Cup) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Raphael Varane | Real Madrid | France |
| 2014 | Sami Khedira | Real Madrid | Germany |
| 2002 | Roberto Carlos | Real Madrid | Brazil |
| 1998 | Christian Karembeu | Real Madrid | France |
| 1974 | Sepp Maier | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1974 | Franz Beckenbauer | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1974 | Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1974 | Gerd Muller | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1974 | Uli Hoeness | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
MORE: Best players never to win the Champions League
Man City vs Inter live stream, TV channel
The 2023 Champions League final will be played on Saturday, June 10 at 10 p.m. local time (8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. EDT) from the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | CBS, TUDN, Univision | Fubo, Paramount+, ViX, Univision Now, TUDN app/site |
| UK | BT Sport Ultimate, BT Sport 1 | BT Sport site/app/YouTube |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| Hong Kong | beIN Sports 3 | beIN Sports Connect |
| India | Sony Ten 2 | JioTV, Sony LIV |
| Malaysia | beIN Sports 3 | beIN Sports Connect, sooka |
| New Zealand | — | Spark Sport |
| Singapore | beIN Sports 3 | beIN Sports Connect, StarHub TV+ |
The match will be televised on CBS (English), Univision (Spanish) and TUDN (Spanish) , which all stream on Fubo, offering a free trial for new users. Spanish-speaking viewers can also stream the match on ViX and Univision Now.
Canada: The 2023 Champions League final streams exclusively on DAZN.
UK: The match will be broadcast on BT Sport 1 and streamed on BT Sport platforms, including BT Sport's YouTube channel for free.
