Former Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer took it upon himself to halt one of three pitch invaders during the opening moments of the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

The match was stopped for a number of minutes as security staff removed the encroachers, with a fourth reportedly just about prevented from getting on the field. One approached Jude Bellingham for a selfie while another apparently tried to get to Vinicius Junior.

Sabitzer - who was on loan at United from Bayern Munich last year - decided to stop one of the invaders himself with the help of a member of the security staff, who guided the spectator away from players.

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The game got back underway once all on-runners were cleared from the pitch after a lengthy delay. It is thought several intruders did so after being set a monetary dare by a YouTuber.

Sabitzer, who scored three times in 18 matches for United before being sold to Dortmund from Bayern in the summer, started the final alongside ex-United teammate Jadon Sancho. The United winger secured a loan move back to Dortmund in January following a fall out with Erik ten Hag. His future at Old Trafford remains unclear.

Dortmund are expected to try and negotiate a permanent deal for the 24-year-old, although club chief Sebastian Kehl has remained coy on the club's plans.

Asked by TNT Sports whether the Yellows would make a move for Sancho in the summer, Kehl replied: "I don’t know yet, to be honest, because it was great to have him for the last six months.

"He wants to win [the final] and everything else will be decided afterwards. The situation is pretty clear, he still has a contract at Man United, we have no buy option meaning we need to discuss and negotiate.

"I don’t know if that will work. But first of all, I hope that he will score one or two times tonight then the price will increase.”

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