Top 10 most successful clubs in Champions League history

The Champions League is the most prestigious club competition and every team, player or coach wants to win it. It was founded in the 1955-56 season and has had several winners since then. Which ten teams have won it the most times?

1. Real Madrid – 14

Historically the most successful club in the Champions League. Real Madrid has collected 14 trophies, the second team has half of them, so the ranking at the top will not change right away.

The royal club won the very first edition and also the last one for now. The generation around the legendary Alfredo Di Stéfano won five titles in a row in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960.

But Real are not just history, they also reign supreme in the standalone Champions League, which has been played in this form since the 1992/93 season. Since 1998 it has won 8 trophies (1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022) which is more than any other club in the competition’s history.

2. AC Milan – 7

The second most successful team in the Champions League is AC Milan. The legendary Italian outfit won its first title in the 1962/63 season, beating Benfica Lisbon in the final.

Other trophies came in 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007. The Rossoneri’s highest win came in the 1993/94 edition, where they thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in the final.

3.-4. Liverpool – 6

Liverpool owe their number mainly to the 1970s and 1980s. The Reds won their first title in 1977, defending it the very next year. The next came in 1981 and Liverpool added a fourth star in 1984.

In 2005, in one of the most famous finals, Liverpool managed to turn around a 0-3 draw with AC Milan and won on penalties. The last triumph came in 2019, when Liverpool, on the other hand, beat Tottenham in one of the game’s least attractive finals.

3. – 4. Bayern -6

After the Spanish, Italian and English representatives, we come to Germany. Like most teams, Bayern owe their number to a golden generation that managed to win multiple trophies in a row.

The Franz Beckenbauer era brought three consecutive Champions League titles in 1974, 1975 and 1976. The Bavarians added a fourth triumph in 2001, overcoming Borussia in the 2013 German final. The last triumph so far came in 2020, when Bayern beat PSG in the final.

5. Barcelona – 5

Spain’s other big club is also making a statement. In fifth place we find Barcelona with five trophies. Apart from a single title, the Blaugranas have won all but one trophy in the modern Champions League.

The first trophy came in the 1991/92 season, the last season before the change from the PMEZ to the Champions League. Barcelona waited 14 years for another trophy, overcoming Arsenal in 2006. Pep Guardiola brought the club two trophies in 2009 and 2011, with Barcelona’s most recent triumph so far dating back to 2015.

6. Ajax – 4

Ajax are a historically great club, boasting an academy, as well as Champions League success. As we mentioned with Bayern, Ajax also had their three-year run, and coincidentally Bayern followed it up.

The Dutch side won their first trophy in 1971, added a second in 1972 and completed the hat-trick in 1973. Ajax added a fourth title in 1995 with a win over AC Milan.

7. – 8. Manchester United – 3

Although Manchester United have the upper hand over Liverpool in the number of Premier League titles, it’s the other way around in the Champions League. The Red Devils celebrated their first trophy win in the year when they beat Benfica Lisbon in the final.

In 1999 came a very famous victory. In the 90th minute Bayern were still leading 1-0, yet they didn’t win. Manchester United turned the game around and won the Champions League thanks to goals from Sheringham in the 91st minute and Solskjaer in the 93rd minute. The last third triumph came in 2008 when United beat Chelsea on penalties.

7. – 8. Inter Milan – 3

Milan’s second team can also be found among the top ten most successful teams in the Champions League. The first trophy came in 1964, which Inter Milan followed up a year later.

The most recent triumph came in 2010, when José Mourinho led his band of warriors to a 2-0 final win over Bayern Munich.

9.-13. Chelsea – 2

Chelsea have won both their two titles in the last 10 years. And also in both cases, it was a surprise winner who won as an underdog.

In 2012, they fought back against immense pressure from Bayern Munich in their own stadium, but eventually took the game to penalties, where they won. In 2021 against Manchester City, she was also not the favourite, but eventually triumphed.

9.-13. Benfica Lisbon – 2

In the last century, a big club that regularly reached the end of the most prestigious club competition, but not all final appearances were victorious.

Benfica thus won their two trophies in succession in 1961 and 1962, symbolically beating first Barcelona and then Real Madrid.

9.-13. Nottingham Forrest, Juventus, Porto – 2

The other 3 teams also have 2 Champions League titles to their credit. They are Nottingham Forrest, Juventus and Porto. Nottingham won their titles, sort of traditionally, in succession, in 1979 and 1980.

Juventus beat Liverpool in the final in 1985 and beat Ajax in 1996. Porto won their first trophy in 1987 after beating Bayern in the final, and in 2004 José Mourinho wrote a footballing fairy tale by leading an underrated team to the trophy.

Source: UEFA