Which Club Has the Most Champions League Titles?

UEFA Champions League or UCL is the premier European club football competition. Organised by the UEFA (Union of European Football Association), it is an annual competition between the top clubs of every top European league. 

It was introduced in 1955 as the European Champions Clubs’ Cup, more commonly remembered as the European Cup. Initially, it was a straight knockout tournament between the champions of the European domestic leagues. However, it underwent a major format change, and its name was changed in 1992. 

The UCL used to have a simple league stage system with the top two teams of all groups qualifying for the knockout rounds, but this was changed at the start of the 2024-25 season. The number of teams was also increased from 32 to 36 and now all teams compete in a league-based system in one single table. The top eight teams directly qualify for the Round of 16, while teams finishing from 9th to 24th compete in two-legged play-off ties to secure a spot in the Round of 16.

Normally a European club’s pedigree in football is judged on how many European trophies, mainly how many Champions League trophies the club has won. Spanish clubs have the most UCL title victories (20 wins), followed by England (15 wins), Italy (12 wins), Germany (8 wins), Netherlands (6 wins) and Portugal (4 wins).

Join us today as we take a look at the clubs that have won the UEFA Champions League (UCL) on multiple occasions. 

13. FC Porto 

Kicking off the list is Portugal’s FC Porto. Founded on 28 September 1893, the club is part of the “big three” teams in Portugal, alongside Benfica and Sporting CP. The Lions have appeared in every season of the Primeira League since it’s establishment in 1934. They have won two UCL titles (1987 and 2004), the club have also won two UEFA Europa League titles, one UEFA Super Cup and two Intercontinental Cups. 

The 2004 UCL title came under the leadership of the legendary Jose Mourinho, beating AS Monaco of France 3–0 at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. 

12. Nottingham Forest 

Premier League’s Nottingham Forest have a very rich history in Europe. Founded in 1865, the club have been playing their home games at the City Ground since 1898. Nottingham’s most successful period came under the management of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

Forest are one of only a few teams to win two successive European Cups (1979 and 1980). They are also one of only six English clubs to win the competition. 

11. Chelsea 

Another Premier League club on the list of most successful clubs in UCL history. Founded on 10 March 1905, Chelsea are a club based out of London, playing their home games at Stamford Bridge. 

The most successful period of the Blues came after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club in June 2003. The club won many Premier League titles, Cup titles and two Champions League titles after Abramovich’s takeover. The first UCL triumph came in 2012, when Chelsea beat Bayern in the final, becoming the first and only club to date from London to lift the trophy. The Blues’ most recent UCL triumph came in 2021 when they defeated Man City in the final with the help of a Kai Havertz goal. 

10. Benfica 

Benfica, founded on 28 February 1904, are one of the biggest Portuguese clubs in the world. The club have never been relegated from the Primeira Liga. The Eagles are one of only a few clubs to win the European Cups in successive years (1961 and 1962). But the club haven't won any European tophy since then and many believe it to be because of the curse placed on the club by their European Cup-winning manager Béla Guttmann. 

Guttmann said “Not in the next one hundred years will Benfica ever be European champions!” after he stormed out of the club in 1962. Since then, the Eagles have lost eight finals on the continental stage. 

9. Juventus 

Juventus are one of the most famous clubs in the world and the most successful Italian club in domestic football, with 36 league titles to their name. They are the third most successful Italian club in UCL history. The Old Lady have won two European Cups/UEFA Champions League titles (1984-85 and 1995-96). The club’s last UCL final was in 2017 against Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid and ended in a 4-1 loss. 

8. Inter Milan 

Inter Milan, commonly referred to as Inter or Internazionale, are the only Italian club to have competed in the Italian top flight since it’s inception in 1909. Inter won their first championship in 1910 and have gone on to win 37 domestic trophies at the time of writing. 

Internazionale have also won three European Cup/Champions League titles. They won the first two in successive years (1964 and 1965), with the latest one coming in 2010. The club won an unprecedented Italian seasonal treble, winning the league title and Coppa Italia in the same year (2010). Inter were very close to increasing their UCL trophy count in 2023 but were at the end of a narrow defeat against Man City in the final. 

7. Manchester United 

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Manchester United are one of the most famous and successful clubs in world football. The club were founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but changed their name to Manchester United in 1902. The club moved to their current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910. 

The Red Devils have reigns of legendary managers such as Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, while they also have seen some dark days but have remained ever relevant in world football. The club have won three UCL titles, with the first one coming in 1968 and the other two coming in 1999 and 2008. The Red Devils also won the UEFA Europa League in the 2016-17 season, becoming one of only five clubs to have won the original three main UEFA club competitions (the Champions League, Europa League and Cup Winners' Cup). 

6. Ajax 

AFC Ajax are the most successful club in the Netherlands, they have continuously played in the Eredivisie since the league’s inception in 1956. Ajax were named as one of the most successful clubs in football according to various publications and magazines. 

They have won the UEFA Champions League title on four different occasions (1971, 1972, 1973 and 1995). Ajax are one of only three clubs to win the UCL in three successive seasons, alongside Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. The club are one of five teams that have earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge. 

5. FC Barcelona 

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Barcelona are one of the most famous clubs in the world and have one of the best UCL records in history. The Blaugrana won their first UCL title in 1992,  a time when the competition was still known as the UEFA European Cup. 

But since then, FC Barcelona have won the trophy on four more occasions in the 21st century (2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015), thanks to a unique generation of players headed by Lionel Messi. 

4. Bayern Munich 

Bayern have been competing in UEFA competitions since the 1960s, and are one of the most successful clubs in the competition’s history. FC Bayern are the most successful German club domestically and also on the European and international stage. 

FCB have won six European Cup/Champions League titles, with the latest one coming during the 2019-20 season. The German giants claimed an incredible six trophies during the 2019-20 season, becoming only the second club after Barcelona to achieve such feast. 

3. Liverpool 

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Liverpool are the most successful English club in history, leading the way narrowly from Man United. The Reds have won fourteen European and worldwide trophies, more than any other British club. 

Their trophy cabinet consists of an incredible six UEFA Champions League trophies, three UEFA Europa League titles, four UEFA Super Cup titles and one FIFA Club World Cup title. The Reds won their first-ever European Cup in the 1976-77 season and won their second trophy in the successive season in the 1977-78 season. Their most recent trophy came in the 2018-19 season under Jurgen Klopp. 

2. AC Milan 

Taking the second spot on the list of clubs with the most UEFA Champions League titles is Italy’s AC Milan. They were the first Italian club to qualify for the European Cup in 1955.

The Rossoneri have participated in 30 editions of the Champions League. The first was in 1955-56, and the last was in 2022-23. The Rossoneri have seven Champions Leagues (an Italian record) in their trophy cabinet: They were won in 1962-63, 1968-69, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1993-94, 2002-03 and 2006-07.

Their last Champions League title was won on 23 May 2007, beating Liverpool 2-1 thanks to a brace from Filippo Inzaghi. 

Four coaches have won the UCL in the Rossoneri dugout: Nereo Rocco (1962-63 and 1968-69), Arrigo Sacchi (1988-89 and 1989-90), Fabio Capello (1993-94) and Carlo Ancelotti (2002-03 and 2006-07).