<P> The 2006 final was the first time that Arsenal had reached the showpiece match; in doing so they became the first club from London to feature in the final . Barcelona were appearing in the final for the fifth time; their last appearance had been in a 4--0 loss to Milan in 1994 . Two more losses preceded the 1994 final (1961 and 1986), and their only success in the competition came in 1992 when they beat Sampdoria . Barcelona went into the final as domestic league champions, having won La Liga a fortnight earlier . They were regarded as being the best side on the continent because they possessed players such as Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o . Barcelona player Deco dismissed the notion of Barcelona being favourites, insisting they would not be complacent: "Milan were winning 3--0 last year against Liverpool and ended up losing in the end . We need to be serious, calm and fully concentrated so that we don't make any errors". </P> <P> Neither side had been beaten en route to the final, with Arsenal only conceding two goals in their 12 matches before the final, including a record ten successive matches without conceding . Barcelona, on the other hand, had scored 114 goals in all competitions before the final . The two finalists were guaranteed a financial windfall from their progress to the final . Arsenal would receive a revenue of around € 37.3 million if they won and approximately € 34.7 million if they lost . Barcelona would earn € 31.5 million from revenue if they won, and around € 28.9 million if they were to lose . Included in the total for participating in the final, the UEFA Champions League winners would collect approximately € 6.4 million, with the runners - up receiving approximately € 3.8 million . The final marked the appearance of a new trophy following Liverpool's triumph over Milan the previous year . As Liverpool won the competition for the fifth time they were entitled to keep the trophy, creating the need for a new trophy . </P> <P> Barcelona were expected to line up in a 4--2--3--1 formation, with Ronaldinho, Ludovic Giuly and Deco supporting Samuel Eto'o who would be deployed as the lone striker . They had doubts about the fitness of Lionel Messi going into the final . He had pulled a thigh muscle during the second leg of their match with Chelsea, and had not played since, though he was included in the 22 man squad for the final . Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard stated he would leave it late before deciding whether to select him . Despite being included in the squad Messi did not feature in the final . Arsenal were expected to line up in a 4--5--1 formation, with Thierry Henry as the sole striker . There was much discussion about whether José Antonio Reyes would take the place of Robert Pirès on the left of midfield . It had been announced before the match that this would be Pirès' last match as he had agreed to join Villarreal next season . </P> <P> On the morning of the final it emerged that the assistant referee for the game Ole Hermann Borgan had posed for photographs in a Barcelona shirt for Drammens Tidende, a Norwegian newspaper . After initially sticking by the official, UEFA eventually decided to replace him with fellow Norwegian Arild Sundet . Norway's head of refereeing Rune Pedersen stated that "It is an unwritten rule that referees should not do anything that can doubt their impartial stance". </P>

Did messi play in 2006 champions league final