Who Has The Most Champions League Titles?
The Champions League is a special competition. It’s the place where the giants from each major European football league come together to battle it out for glory. Over the years, there have been countless incredible matches in the UEFA Champions League, and that looks set to continue in the current season.
Certain teams have a real affinity towards this particular competition, winning it numerous times and outperforming their rivals. In fact, there are teams whose domestic league form seems to have no impact on their Champions League prospects.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the teams that have the most Champions League titles. The rich history of these clubs and their respective trophies are part of what makes football the most popular sport in the world, and we can’t underestimate the importance of that in light of recent attempts to form a breakaway “Super League”.
Real Madrid (13)
Real Madrid is European royalty. They have broken various records in the Champions League and currently have the most titles by quite a distance. You simply can’t underestimate them.
With 13 Champions League titles, Real Madrid is, without a doubt, one of the most popular football clubs in the world. For many players, the ultimate destination is this prestigious club. Some players spend their whole career hoping for a move to Real Madrid, only to arrive and realize that they aren’t quite good enough.
In recent years, Cristiano Ronaldo scored an amazing 105 goals for Real Madrid in the Champions League. It was during this era that they became the first club to win three Champions Leagues in a row, which is an unbelievable feat.
Since then, they haven’t repeated this success, but it’s always a possibility that Real Madrid will lift the trophy.
AC Milan (7)
AC Milan is one of the biggest clubs in Italy, based in (you guessed it) the city of Milan alongside their rivals Inter Milan. Founded in 1899, the club has spent almost every season since its creation in the top flight of Italian football.
They have the second most Champions League trophies and the most of any Italian club overall. One of their most famous stints in the Champions League game against Liverpool FC. The famous Istanbul game is well-known by football fans around the world.
At the time, Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan was winning 3-0 and ended up pegged back by Liverpool to 3-3. Losing on penalties, was a crushing blow for the team.
However, two years later the teams met again and Milan regained their glory by winning 2-1 full-time. This was back in 2007, and Milan hasn’t managed to replicate this success in Europe since. But as the next team on the list will show, certain teams always have a chance in European competitions.
Liverpool (6)
Liverpool FC has won 6 Champions League trophies throughout their history and is currently one of the favourites to win the competition again. This would bring them to 7, matching AC Milan’s record, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Their most recent Champions League trophy came in 2019 under Jurgen Klopp. When Klopp took over at Liverpool, they were in dire need of some direction. He turned them into one of the most impressive attacking teams in the world and unlocked the potential of seemingly average players, transforming them into world-class super starts.
They’re currently attempting to win both the Premier League and the Champions League in one season, a feat that would see the team assert itself as one of the dominant forces of this era in football.
A team that is synonymous with amazing comebacks and magical moments in Europe, you can never discount Liverpool. It’ll be interesting to see if Klopp’s red men can pull it off once again.
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Bayern Munich (6)
Bayern Munich is the most successful club in the history of German football. They have an incredible 31 national titles, as well as 20 national cups and 6 Champions League trophies.
Throughout the mid-70s, Bayern enjoyed a period of immense success under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, winning the European cup 3 consecutive times from 1974 to 1976.
Since then, they have gone on to cement themselves as the best club in Germany and they are always a challenging proposition in the Champions League. With amazing goalscorers like Robert Lewandowski, they are a titanic team and could easily go on to add to their Champions League tally.
Barcelona (5)
Unfortunately, Barcelona has just crashed out of the Champions League and into the Europa League from the group stages. This is almost unheard of for a club of this stature, and they have been in disarray for a while now.
Former manager Ronald Koeman failed to deliver any success and the team needs to find its feet once again.
As one of the superpowers in world football, it feels as though Barcelona is never far from winning a Champions League title, but they have never been at the same level as Real Madrid in terms of this particular competition.
Their last Champions League trophy came in a 3-1 win against Juventus in 2015, so it wasn’t too long ago. In fact, with Lionel Messi at the forefront, Barcelona was arguably the best team in the world. But when such a great player leaves it's hard to find your identity.
In recent memory, Barcelona has suffered some crushing blows in the CL, such as Liverpool coming back from a 3-0 deficit to knock them out of the competition with 4-3 on aggregate. Only time will tell, but hopefully, Barcelona will return to its glory soon.
Final Thoughts
It’s hard to call the winner of this year's Champions League, but it’s as fiercely competitive as ever. Could we see one of the names in this list lift the trophy once more? Or will we be shocked by a surprise contender?