| Founded: | 1955 |
| Region: | UEFA (Europe) |
| Number Of Teams: | 36 (league stage) 2 (finalists) |
| Most Successful Club: | Real Madrid (15 titles) |
| Current: | 2024 UEFA Champions League final |
The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup.[1] The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) member associations (except Liechtenstein, which has no league competition), as well as to the clubs finishing from second to fourth position in the strongest leagues.[2] Originally, only the champions of their respective national league and the defending champions of the competition were allowed to participate. However, this was changed in 1997 to allow the runners-up of the stronger leagues to compete as well, and again in 1999 when third and fourth-placed teams of the said leagues also became eligible.[3] In the Champions League era, the defending champions of the competition did not automatically qualify until the rules were changed in 2005 to allow title holders Liverpool to enter the competition.[4]
Teams that have won the UEFA Champions League three consecutive times, or five times overall, receive a multiple-winner badge.[5] Six teams have earned this privilege: Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Liverpool, and Barcelona.[6] Until 2009, clubs that had earned that badge were allowed to keep the European Champion Clubs' Cup and a new one was commissioned;[7] since 2009, the winning team each year has received a full-size replica of the trophy, while the original is retained by UEFA.[8]
A total of 23 clubs have won the Champions League/European Cup. Real Madrid holds the record for the most victories, having won the competition 15 times, including the inaugural edition. They have also won the competition the most consecutive times, with five straight titles from 1956 to 1960. Juventus have been runners-up the most times, losing seven finals. Atlético Madrid is the only team to reach three finals without having won the trophy while Reims and Valencia have finished as runners-up twice without winning. Spain has provided the most champions, with twenty wins from two clubs.[9] England have produced fifteen winners from a record six clubs and Italy have produced twelve winners from three clubs. English teams were banned from the competition for five years following the Heysel disaster in 1985.[10] The current champions are Real Madrid, who beat Borussia Dortmund 2–0 in the 2024 final.[11]
While the venue for the final is chosen well in advance, on four occasions clubs have reached a final scheduled to be played in their own stadium; Real Madrid won their second European Cup in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in 1957, while in 1965 Inter Milan also won their second title in the final at the San Siro. In 1984, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome was the venue and saw Roma defeated on penalties by Liverpool, while 2012 saw the Allianz Arena host the final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea, which the English club also won on penalties.
| Match was won during extra time | ||
| Match was won on a penalty shoot-out | ||
| & | Match was won after a replay |
Teams from thirteen nations have appeared in a Champions League final, and teams from ten of those have won the competition. Since the 1995–96 season, other than Porto's win in 2003–04, the winners have come from one of only four nations – Spain (13), England (7), Germany (4) and Italy (4) – and other than Monaco in 2003–04 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2019–20, the runners-up have all come from the same four nations.
England has produced the most winning teams, with six clubs having won the trophy. Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands have produced three winners, while Spain and Portugal have produced two winning clubs. Scotland, Romania, Yugoslavia, and France have produced one winner each.
| Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 11 | 31 | |
| 15 | 11 | 26 | |
| 12 | 17 | 29 | |
| 8 | 11 | 19 | |
| 6 | 2 | 8 | |
| 4 | 5 | 9 | |
| 1 | 6 | 7 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| 0 | 1 | 1 | |