Barcelona tipped to win UEFA Champions League this season
Rafael van der Vaart, a former player for Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur, has picked Barcelona as the favourite for the UEFA Champions League this year.
Van der Vaart made this statement prior to Bayern Munich's visit to Barcelona on Tuesday in a Champions League group stage match.
In 2015, Barcelona won the coveted European championship, led by the triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez.
Since then, the Catalan club has not advanced to the competition's championship game; their best performance in the last seven years has been a last-four participation.
However, Van der Vaart is confident that Barcelona, led by four-time Champions League champion Xavi Hernandez, will take home the trophy this year.
“Barcelona will win the Champions League,” Van der Vaart told Ziggo Sport (as quoted by @TheEuropeanLad on Twitter).
“It’s just my feeling. It’s actually based on nothing.”