The UEFA Champions League (UCL), formerly known as European Cup, is the top tier club competition with teams from across the European continent battling to be crowned champions of Europe.
The tournament founded in 1955-56 season as European Cup, started with 16 teams competing and was later named Champions League in 1992-93 season with the number of teams increasing over the years.
UCL kicks off with three qualifying rounds early in the summer and then a play-off to finalize the 32 teams for the group stage, which involves 4 teams of 8 groups determined by a draw.
The group stage each club playing everyone else of their respective groups, home and away. The top two sides in each group move on to the round of 16, which is the start of the knockout phase, while the third-placed team of each group drop into the second tier competition - Europa League.
In UCL, the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals are played over two legs, home and away with two teams that have come through the knockout rounds battling for the trophy at a venue, decided in advance by UEFA.
As it stands, the UEFA Champions league has been held for 68 seasons with 16 of the 68 finals heading into extra time and beyond after the match ending in a draw in regulation time. Only once, the final was decided via a replay, while a penalty shoot out has decided the champion 11 times.
La Liga side Real Madrid, who won the first ever title, is the most successful side in the competition, having won the Champions League a record 14 times.
Milan is the next best club with 7 title wins followed by Liverpool and Bayern Munich, who have won the UCL 6 times so far. Barcelona has won the UCL 5 times, while Ajax has won the title four times.
Manchester United and Inter have won the coveted title 3 times. Juventus, Benfica, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Porto have all won twice.
Meanwhile, the likes of Manchester City, Red Star Belgrade, Celtic, Hamburger SV, Steaua Bucuresti, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille, Feyenoord, Aston Villa and PSV Eindhoven have all won the UCL one time each.
As for final appearances, Real Madrid once again top the list with 17 final appearances followed by Milan and Bayern Munich, who have played 11 finals each, Liverpool have appeared in 10 finals. However, it is Juventus that own the most runners up finishes with 7 in 9 final appearances.
Season | Winners | Score | Runners Up | Final Venue |
1955–56 | Real Madrid | 4-3 | Reims | Parc des Princes, Paris, France |
1956–57 | Real Madrid | 2-0 | Fiorentina | Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain |
1957–58 | Real Madrid | 3-2 AET | Milan | Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |
1958–59 | Real Madrid | 2-0 | Reims | Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany |
1959–60 | Real Madrid | 7-3 | Eintracht Frankfurt | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |
1960–61 | Benfica | 3-2 | Barcelona | Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland |
1961–62 | Benfica | 5-3 | Real Madrid | Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
1962–63 | Milan | 2-1 | Benfica | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
1963–64 | Inter Milan | 3-1 | Real Madrid | Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria |
1964–65 | Inter Milan | 1-0 | Benfica | San Siro, Milan, Italy |
1965–66 | Real Madrid | 2-1 | Partizan | Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |
1966–67 | Celtic | 2-1 | Inter Milan | Estadio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal |
1967–68 | Manchester United | 4-1 AET | Benfica | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
1968–69 | Milan | 4-1 | Ajax | Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain |
1969–70 | Feyenoord | 2-1 AET | Celtic | San Siro, Milan, Italy |
1970–71 | Ajax | 2-0 | Panathinaikos | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
1971–72 | Ajax | 2-0 | Inter Milan | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
1972–73 | Ajax | 1-0 | Juventus | Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia |
1973–74 | Bayern Munich | 1-1 | Atletico Madrid | Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |
4-0 Replay | ||||
1974–75 | Bayern Munich | 2-0 | Leeds United | Parc des Princes, Paris, France |
1975–76 | Bayern Munich | 1-0 | Saint-Etienne | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |
1976–77 | Liverpool | 3-1 | Borussia Moenchengladbach | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy |
1977–78 | Liverpool | 1-0 | Club Brugge | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
1978–79 | Nottingham Forest | 1-0 | Malmo FF | Olympiastadion, Munich, West Germany |
1979–80 | Nottingham Forest | 1-0 | Hamburger SV | Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain |
1980–81 | Liverpool | 1-0 | Real Madrid | Parc des Princes, Paris, France |
1981–82 | Aston Villa | 1-0 | Bayern Munich | De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
1982–83 | Hamburger SV | 1-0 | Juventus | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece |
1983–84 | Liverpool | 1-1 AET (4-2 Pens) | Roma | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy |
1984–85 | Juventus | 1-0 | Liverpool | Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |
1985–86 | Steaua Bucuresti | 0-0 AET (2-0 Pens) | Barcelona | Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville, Spain |
1986–87 | Porto | 2-1 | Bayern Munich | Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria |
1987–88 | PSV Eindhoven | 0-0 AET (6-5 Pens) | Benfica | Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany |
1988–89 | Milan | 4-0 | Steaua Bucuresti | Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain |
1989–90 | Milan | 1-0 | Benfica | Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria |
1990–91 | Red Star Belgrade | 0-0 AET (5-3 Pens) | Marseille | Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy |
1991–92 | Barcelona | 1-0 AET | Sampdoria | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
1992–93 | Marseille | 1-0 | Milan | Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany |
1993–94 | Milan | 4-0 | Barcelona | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece |
1994–95 | Ajax | 1-0 | Milan | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria |
1995–96 | Juventus | 1-1 AET (4-2 Pens) | Ajax | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy |
1996–97 | Borussia Dortmund | 3-1 | Juventus | Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany |
1997–98 | Real Madrid | 1-0 | Juventus | Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
1998–99 | Manchester United | 2-1 | Bayern Munich | Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain |
1999–2000 | Real Madrid | 3-0 | Valencia | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |
2000–01 | Bayern Munich | 1-1 AET (5-4 Pens) | Valencia | San Siro, Milan, Italy |
2001–02 | Real Madrid | 2-1 | Bayer Leverkusen | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |
2002–03 | Milan | 0-0 AET (3-2 Pens) | Juventus | Old Trafford, Manchester, England |
2003–04 | Porto | 3-0 | Monaco | Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany |
2004–05 | Liverpool | 3-3 AET (3-2 Pens) | Milan | Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey |
2005–06 | Barcelona | 2-1 | Arsenal | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |
2006–07 | Milan | 2-1 | Liverpool | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece |
2007–08 | Manchester United | 1-1 AET (6-5 Pens) | Chelsea | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia |
2008–09 | Barcelona | 2-0 | Manchester United | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy |
2009–10 | Inter Milan | 2-0 | Bayern Munich | Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain |
2010–11 | Barcelona | 3-1 | Manchester United | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
2011–12 | Chelsea | 1-1 AET (4-3 Pens) | Bayern Munich | Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany |
2012–13 | Bayern Munich | 2-1 | Borussia Dortmund | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
2013–14 | Real Madrid | 4-1 AET | Atletico Madrid | Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal |
2014–15 | Barcelona | 3-1 | Juventus | Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany |
2015–16 | Real Madrid | 1-1 AET (5-3 Pens) | Atletico Madrid | San Siro, Milan, Italy |
2016–17 | Real Madrid | 4-1 | Juventus | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales |
2017–18 | Real Madrid | 3-1 | Liverpool | NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine |
2018–19 | Liverpool | 2-0 | Tottenham Hotspur | Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain |
2019–20 | Bayern Munich | 1-0 | Paris Saint-Germain | Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal |
2020–21 | Chelsea | 1-0 | Manchester City | Estadio do Dragao, Porto, Portugal |
2021-22 | Real Madrid | 1-0 | Liverpool | Stade de France, Paris, France |
2022-23 | Manchester City | 1-0 | Inter | Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey |