Whether you’re a football player or a fan, the UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of the sport in Europe. It is where the best clubs in the UK and on the continent battle it out for the crown, the sceptre and the throne.
If the domestic leagues are big, the Champions League is massive. It is the title that every pro footballer dreams of adding to his personal honours list.
Through the years, first the European Cup and later the
Champions League has been dominated by five clubs. What is remarkable is the top performing protagonists are a fair reflection of the spread of topflight talent across Europe.
Run your eyes down the page and you will find at least one representative of the key European leagues – La Liga, Serie A, the English Premier League and Bundesliga!
Which European clubs have had the most successful forays in the Champions League? Here are the 5 top performers to date:
Real Madrid - 13 Titles
Los Blancos are the big winners on the biggest football stage of all. The men from the Bernabeu have won a record 13 European Cup and Champions League titles, six clear of their nearest rivals AC Milan.
Real Madrid’s glory years spanned the 1950’s when they won five consecutive Cups. They followed up the heroics between 2016 and 2018, winning three league titles back-to-back.
Can Zinedine Zidane’s men up the ante and win again this year? So far, they’ve made it through to the knockout phase and open their account against Manchester City in February.
AC Milan - 7 Titles
AC Milan may be way off the pace - teetering at around fifth place in the
Serie A - but the Rossoneri have a proud record in the Champions League.
Their seven titles and four runners up spots speak volumes about the sublime talent that has historically defined the club.
Milan last claimed the kudos in 2007 but is not competing in this year’s competition due to a ban for transgressing UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.
Liverpool - 6 Titles
Liverpool are the incumbents on the Champions League throne, having won their sixth title in 2019. The Reds are the flag carriers for the
English Premier League and due to their current form in both the domestic and Champions League, they could well be the team to beat.
With players like Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah in the fray, odds are Jurgen Klopp’s men are destined for big things again this year. Their first encounter in the round of 16 is an away match against Atletico Madrid in February.
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Bayern Munich - 5 Titles
The Bavarians were at their most potent in the Champions League under the captaincy of the legendary Franz Beckenbauer. During the mid-seventies they won three consecutive titles but have struggled to make inroads since.
The
Bundesliga giants last won the prize in Europe in 2013 when they dazzled with a continental treble. Can the warriors of the Allianz Arena claim a sixth title?
Bayern Munich topped the log in the group stages and face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the first match in the knockout phase.
Barcelona - 5 Titles
Camp Nou may be a happy hunting ground for six-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi but Barca have largely punched below its weight in the Champions League.
The legendary
La Liga club has won just five league titles, with the last triumph coming five seasons ago. Can 2020 be the year in which Messi and his men grab gold? Barcelona finished first in their group and meet Napoli in the knockout phase.
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