The Champions League winners are considered a big powerhouse in European football. The likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Barcelona have been Champions League winners in recent times. These clubs are considered to be European football with great heritage. At the same time, clubs like Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-German have come close but failed to be Champions League winners.
On the other hand clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City have also been the Champions League winners recently. The competition is now back with Arsenal, Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Union Berlin making a comeback in the tournament. However, other heavyweights like Chelsea, Juventus, and Liverpool are missing this season in the Champions League. Despite this, there are plenty of mouth-watering competition for the fans to enjoy this season even in the group stage.
Bayern Munich and Manchester United are in the same group. Napoli and Real Madrid are in the same group. Group F is said to be the group of death with Paris Saint Germain, AC Milan, and Borussia Dortmund all in the same group.
Champions League Winners List
Earlier the competition was called the European Cup and later on, in 1991, it was rebranded as UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid have the competition the most number of times. Even since 1991, they have won the competition six times more than anyone else. Barcelona are not far behind with five Champions League titles. The likes of AC Milan, Chelsea, and Liverpool have also won in recent times.
Real Madrid- 9
Barcelona-5
AC Milan-3
Bayern Munich-3
Chelsea-2
Liverpool-2
Manchester United-2
However, if the European competition the predecessor of the UEFA Champions League is considered then these numbers will be different.
Champions League Winners List from 1991
Champions League winners in the 20th century
Barcelona-1992
The Catalans defeated Sampdoria 1-0 to win their first Champions League title.
Marseille- 1993
The French giants defeated AC 1-0 in the final.
AC Milan-1994
The Rossoneri thrashed Johan Cryuff Barcelona 4-0 with Daniele Massaro scoring twice, and Dejan Savicevic and Marcel Desailly adding one a piece.
Ajax-1995
The defending champions AC Milan were stunned by a young Ajax team led by Louis Van Gaal. Patrick Kluivert scored the winning late in the 85th minute.
Juventus-1996
Ajax again faced an Italian competition in the finals. However, Juve managed to beat them 4-2 on penalties. This was Juventus’s last Champions League triumph.
Borussia Dortmund-1997
This time it was Juventus who were again in the final. However, the German side Borussia Dortmund defeated them 3-1. It was BVB’s last Champions League triumph.
Real Madrid-1998
Los Blancos won their first Champions League in this new format in 1998. Juventus were again at the receiving end. They lost 1-0 in the final with Predrag Mijatovic scoring the only goal of the game.
Manchester United-1999
This was the famous Manchester United 2-1 win in injury time against Bayern Munich. The Bavarians were leading 1-0 but Paul Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjear scored as the Red Devils won the famous treble that year.
Champions League Winners List in the 21st century
Real Madrid-2000
Los Blancos had a comfortable 3-0 win over their Spanish rival Valencia. Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman, and Raul each scored one goal in the 2000 final.
Bayern Munich-2001
The Bavarians finally got their hands on the trophy. Valencia were again in the final. This time the match went to penalties. However, traditionally teams from Germany are been strong in penalties, Bayern Munich won the final 5-4 on penalties.
Real Madrid-2002
This is the final in which Zinedine Zidane scored his famous volley to give Los Blancos a 2-1 lead. Roberto Carlos provided the assist while Zidane’s goal proved the winner for the club.
AC Milan-2003
The Rossoneri faced arch-Italian rivals Juventus in the final. The match was a goalless draw. However, Milan nicked a 2-3 win on penalties.
Porto-2004
This victory gave Jose Mourinho the launch pad for his career. He led an underdog Porto to a famous Champions League victory. It was special because no one expected Porto to be the winner, they defeated Monaco 1-0 in the final.
Liverpool-2005
Another famous Champions League final in which the Reds led by captain Steven Gerrard made a stunning comeback from 3-0 down to make it 3-3. Eventually, the match went to penalties in which Andriy Shevchenko missed the crucial penalty to give Liverpool the win.
Barcelona-2006
The Barcelona revolution faced the unstoppable Arsenal in their prime under Arsene Wenger. However, the Catalans managed to beat the Gunners 2-1 with Samuel Eto and Juliano Belletti scoring one each.
AC Milan-2007
Rossoneri finally got their revenge against Liverpool in the Champions League. They led by two goals till the 83rd minute. The Reds through Dirt Kyut scored in the 89th minute. There were fears that Liverpool would do a repeat of 2005 but that did not happen.
Manchester United-2008
The memory of John Terry slipping and missing the crucial penalty in the shootout will still rejoice the Red Devils. The game ended 1-1, it went to a shootout where in the death penalty Nicolas Anelka missed his penalty to hand the Red Devils the trophy.
Barcelona-2009
Manchester United with Cristiano Ronaldo were hoping to make it two in a row. However, Lionel Messi had other plans. The Catalans under Pep Guardiola won 2-0 in the final with Barca completing a famous treble that season.
Champions League winners since 2010
Inter Milan-2010
Jose Mourinho again waved his magic by doing the impossible of defeating Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Then he faced Bayern Munich in the final. The Nerrazuri defeated the Bavarians in the final 2-0. Inter also won a treble that season.
Barcelona-2011
This was another famous Champions League final. Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were humbled and humiliated by Barcelona in the Champions League final. It was an embarrassing 3-1 defeat for the Red Devils.
Chelsea-2012
Against all odds, the Blues somehow managed to win this trophy. They even defeated prime Barcelone under Pep Guardiola, while Bayern Munich in the final was no less. However, it was probably written in the stars with Didier Drogba equalising in the 88th minute and scoring the winning penalty in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
Bayern Munich-2013
After many heartbreaks in the final, the Bavarians finally got their hands on the Champions League. They defeated Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund with Arjen Robben scoring a late winner to make it 2-1.
Real Madrid-2014
Los Blancos had to make a twelve-year wait to get their hand on the La Decima. The match went to the wire with Sergio Ramos equalising in the dying moments after an Iker Cassials hauler in the first half. Gareth Bale, Marcelo, and Ronaldo scored in extra time to get Real Madrid a 1-4 victory.
Barcelona-2015
This was the year when the MSN trio of Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar led Barca to a treble and a Champions League trophy. To date, it is Barca’s last Champions League victory. They won the final by defeating Juventus 3-1 in the final.
Champions League Winners since 2015
Real Madrid-2016
Los Blancos faced a similar foe in Atletico Madrid in the final. The match drew 1-1 with Yannick Carrasco levelling it after Ramos’s first-half goal. However, on penalties, Real Madrid won after Juffran missed his penalty and Ronaldo scored Los Blanco’s final penalty.
Real Madrid-2017
With this win, Los Blancos became the first club to defend the trophy successfully. In the old edition, there were teams who defended their title. However, Real Madrid were the first club to do it in the modern era. They defeated Juventus 4-1 in the final.
Real Madrid-2018
Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane as a manager become the first team to win the trophy three times in a row. They faced Liverpool in the final, and Gareth Bale scored a stunning bicycle goal to end Liverpool’s hopes of a Champions League.
Liverpool-2019
Despite the setback in the 2018 final, the Reds were determined to win the Champions League. They faced Tottenham Hotspurs in the final. An early penalty goal from Mohammed Salah settled the nerves for the Reds. While Divok Origi added a second late in the game to clinch the trophy.
Bayern Munich-2020
This was the year of Covid with the Champions League games only being a single knockout game, rather than a two-legged affair. The Bavarians came out on top with Kingsley Coman scoring the only goal against Paris Saint Germain. Bayern Munich also won the treble under Hansi Flick in 2020.
Champions League Winners since 2020
Chelsea-2021
Just like in 2012, the Blues were not the favourites to win, however, they managed to do it anyway. Thomas Tuchel came in mid-season to replace Frank Lampard. The German guided the Blues against unplayable Manchester City. Kai Havetz scored the only goal of the game.
Real Madrid-2022
There were hardly any who believed that Los Blancos would manage to win this one. However, they defeated a PSG team led by Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Messi. The defending champions are Chelsea, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. They defeated the Reds 1-0 in the final with Vinicius Junior scoring the only goal.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola finally managed to shut out his critics who said he could not win the Champions League without Messi. Manchester City could also no longer be mocked for not having won a Champions League. Rodri scored the only goal of the match against Inter Milan. Manchester City also won the treble in this season.
