Barcelona won the Champions League after beating Manchester United 3-1 in the final at Wembley.

"It is never easy. We must congratulate Manchester United for the great match they have played. We are pleased because we know how hard it is to win the Champions League," he told TVE.

"We prepared very well for this game and the world has seen that we deserved to win. We controlled the game superbly."

Guardiola has won the Champions League twice in three seasons with the Catalan side.

He continued: "This year we had more time to prepare for the final compared to the one in Rome. We were able to prepare well for it and we had a great game. We are very happy with the victory.

"The history of Manchester United told us that we would have a hard time. They played at a high level and managed to equalise so soon after we scored the first goal. I think we must be happy because we were very competitive today."

Barcelona lifted the European Cup for the fourth time after goals from Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa.

England international Wayne Rooney had earlier equalised for Manchester United in a thrilling match in London on Saturday evening.