Matchday Menu: Blaise Matuidi and Júlio César's final face-off

The final episode of the Just Eat Matchday Menu series is a UEFA Champions League final special, bringing together ex-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi and former Inter goalkeeper Júlio César.

Matchday meals, featuring Zlatan and Materazzi

A Paris player from 2011 to 2017, Matuidi reckons the biggest eater he ever saw in football was Zlatan Ibrahimović. "We had like a normal plate; this guy had a big plate of pasta," says Matuidi indicating how high big the striker's portions were. "He's a big guy," added Júlio César, who also played with Ibrahimović.

Júlio César, who was at Inter between 2005 and 2012, recalls that the Nerazzurri's Argentinian right-back Javier Zanetti had a fearsome appetite too. "Before the games, believe me, he could eat a lot of bread and pasta together," he says. "It's unbelievable for this guy because physically he's so strong."

Given the option of inviting two former team-mates for a takeaway, Matuidi went for Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler, while Júlio César selected a pizza with Marco Materazzi and Dejan Stanković, mindful that former defender Materazzi had not approved of his choice of toppings in the past.

"One day we were in Napoli, and you know, in Napoli they are so famous for pizza, and I put ketchup [on the top] and Marco [said]: 'What are you doing, man? Don’t do that.'" The goalkeeper replied: "'Marco, believe me, I'm a Brazilian guy, OK? So I'm used to putting ketchup [on pizza] and I cannot change.'"

Inter's lethal Lautaro MartínezAFP via Getty Images

Final thoughts

Matuidi thinks Paris forward Ousmane Dembélé will be the key player in the final in Munich. "He's having a wonderful season," he explained. "Every time he touches the ball this year, I feel that something will happen." Both Matuidi and Júlio César are also fans of Désiré Doué. "He’s something special," says Matuidi.

So, however, is Inter's Argentinian forward Lautaro Martínez, and Júlio César has a feeling that this will be his final. "Lautaro is a wonderful striker, but I think this year, he took some responsibility inside the squad, as a captain." Goalkeeper Yann Sommer also merits a mention for his outstanding contribution to the semi-final success against Barcelona.

When it comes to score predictions, the two players agree that it will end 2-1, though they are not in accord as to which side will take the trophy. "I know that Inter will score," says Matuidi. "But we'll score more than them."

Matuidi reckons Marquinhos will be on the scoresheet while Júlio César predicted boldly that Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram would be the men to find the net in Inter's success.

Both players approve of Paris's MarquinhosUEFA via Getty Images

FoodBallers: Paris vs Inter

Finally, Matuidi and Júlio César did a simple FoodBallers head to head on which team had the strongest players in their respective positions. Paris came our on top in terms of defenders (Marquinhos vs Alessandro Bastoni) and wing-backs (Achraf Hakimi vs Denzel Dumfries), while Inter had the better midfielders (Nicolò Barella outstripping Vitinha) and strikers (Lautaro Martínez outranking Dembélé).

However in terms of who was the better goalkeeper (Gianluigu Donnarumma or Yann Sommer) or indeed which side would win the final, Matuidi and Júlio César agreed to differ.