It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player.^[89]

Days after the FA Cup final, United travelled to Barcelona, the setting for the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final. Ferguson contemplated his team selection against Bayern Munich; suspensions to Scholes and Keane ruled both players out of the match.^[89] Beckham was positioned in centre midfield, while Giggs moved to the right ring and Blomqvist started on the left – changes the manager felt would prevent the opposition from playing narrow.^[89] United conceded in the first six minutes of the final, from a Mario Basler's free kick. Sheringham, who came on for Blomqvist, equalised from a corner in the first minute of additional time. McClaren told Ferguson to get the team organised for extra time, to which he replied "Steve, this game isn't finished."^[89] Three minutes into added time, Solskjær scored the winner, which for United completed an unprecedented treble. Ferguson interviewed moments after said: "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football, bloody hell. But they never gave in and that's what won it." He and Schmeichel, the stand-in captain, jointly lifted the cup during the trophy presentation.

A crowd of over 500,000 people turned out on the streets of Manchester to greet the players, who paraded through the city in an open-top bus.^[93] As European champions, United were invited to play in the Intercontinental Cup. The club also entered the inaugural Club World Championship, which was held in Brazil. This brought about a potential fixture congestion so United accepted the FA's recommendation of withdrawing from the FA Cup, the first holders to do so.^[94] In later years, Ferguson elaborated on the club's decision: "We did it to help England’s World Cup bid. That was the political situation. I regretted it because we got nothing but stick and terrible criticism for not being in the FA Cup when really, it wasn’t our fault.