RAFAEL BENITEZ claims the Liverpool side that will take on Real Madrid in Saturday’s Champions League final is superior to the team he guided to glory in Istanbul 13 years ago.

Benitez will be watching this weekend’s final in Kiev at his family home on the Wirral, and Liverpool’s return to European football’s biggest stage will inevitably stir memories of 2005’s penalty shoot-out victory over AC Milan.

The Liverpool side that overturned a three-goal deficit in Istanbul featured Steven Gerrard as skipper and also boasted the likes of Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia.

However, with Jurgen Klopp able to call on Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane at the weekend, Benitez feels the current Liverpool team is superior to the one he led to success.

“If you compare the two teams, I think this one is better,” said the Newcastle United boss. “We achieved what we achieved, but although they talk about the miracle of Istanbul, this team is better.

“If we talk about the money spent, my budget was £20m. £20m. The value of this team is so much higher, and they have had so many more years when they have been spending a lot of money.

“People say they rely (on Mo Salah), but they have a good balance. Everyone was talking about their defence, but they spend some money on defenders.

“They are strong in the middle, and they have three players up front who can score goals. To be fair, Mo Salah has done really well, but all Liverpool’s forward line - Mane and Firmino - can score goals against any team.”

Benitez also boasts intimate knowledge of Real Madrid, having managed at the Bernabeu for 18 months prior to his dismissal in 2016.

Real are hoping to claim a third successive Champions League victory this weekend, and a win in Kiev would mean they have won four of the last five editions of the competition.

Zinedine Zidane’s side suffered a disappointing domestic campaign, finishing in third position in La Liga, some 17 points adrift of champions Barcelona, but in the likes of Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, Liverpool’s opponents can still call on some formidable talent.

Zidane has handed more responsibility to Casemiro and Marco Asensio in the last few months, players that were integrated and developed under Benitez, and the Newcastle boss anticipates an entertaining final that will be characterised by a stark clash in styles.

“Real Madrid are a good team, obviously,” said Benitez. “They have more experience and they have the quality and the balance.

“When we were there we were trying to get some new, young, quick and fast players to make a difference, to give us something different, but now they have players like Marco Asensio and Casemiro, young players with energy that have come through. They have become essential. They have young players with energy and who keep a balance.

“So Real Madrid have the experience and quality to match them, but Liverpool can do it. They have the intensity and the quality, the passion, the desire. But sometimes in these kinds of games, it's just one mistake and then you pay for that.

“It’s how you manage this pressure. Real Madrid have been managing this kind of pressure for a while and Liverpool are in a new situation but, at the same time, they have the energy, the passion, the desire.

“Tell me the difference? The timing of when you can score. Can they (Liverpool) maintain the intensity? Yes. Can the other side mange the intensity of Liverpool? Yes. So I think it's a fine balance.”

Benitez finds it impossible to select a winner, but having experienced the way in which his own standing changed after he guided Liverpool to victory, he expects Jurgen Klopp’s status at Anfield to be elevated even higher if the German steers his side to another success this weekend.

“It will change everything for him in Liverpool,” he said. “He's fine and he’s an idol now, but he will be more. He was winning things with (Borussia) Dortmund, but it would be massive for him here because it has been some time since he was winning at this level.”