UEFA Champions League facts for kids
Founded | 1955 (rebranded in 1992) |
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Region | Europe (UEFA) |
Number of teams | 32 (group stage) 80 (total) |
Qualifier for | UEFA Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup |
Related competitions | UEFA Europa League (2nd tier) UEFA Europa Conference League (3rd tier) |
Current champions | Real Madrid (14th title) |
Most successful club(s) | Real Madrid (14 titles) |
Television broadcasters | List of broadcasters |
Website | Official website: https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/ |
The UEFA Champions League, or simply known as the UCL is a football competition organized by UEFA, between some of the top club teams in Europe. The teams are selected because of good performances in their league matches. The teams used to have to win their countries' championship, but more than one team can play in the competition depending on how good their league is. For example: the Spanish League can get 4 Spanish clubs in the competition compared to the Kazakhstan League which can only get one team in the competition.
Real Madrid won the Champions League the first five times it was held, still a record. They have also won the Champions League/European Cup 14 times, which is also a record.
A total of 22 clubs from 10 European countries won the Champions League. 12 clubs won it more than once: Real Madrid, Milan, Bayern, Liverpool, Barcelona, Ajax, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Juventus, Benfica, Porto and Nottingham Forest. The current champions are Bayern Munich after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the final on 23rd August 2020 by 1-0.
Contents
Team records and statistics
Performances by club
Club | Title(s) | Runners-up | Seasons won | Seasons runner-up |
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Real Madrid | 14 | 3 | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 | 1962, 1964, 1981 |
Milan | 7 | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 | 1958, 1993, 1995, 2005 |
Bayern Munich | 6 | 5 | 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, 2020 | 1982, 1987, 1999, 2010, 2012 |
Liverpool | 6 | 4 | 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019 | 1985, 2007, 2018, 2022 |
Barcelona | 5 | 3 | 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015 | 1961, 1986, 1994 |
Ajax | 4 | 2 | 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995 | 1969, 1996 |
Manchester United | 3 | 2 | 1968, 1999, 2008 | 2009, 2011 |
Inter Milan | 3 | 2 | 1964, 1965, 2010 | 1967, 1972 |
Juventus | 2 | 7 | 1985, 1996 | 1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2015, 2017 |
Benfica | 2 | 5 | 1961, 1962 | 1963, 1965, 1968, 1988, 1990 |
Chelsea | 2 | 1 | 2012, 2021 | 2008 |
Nottingham Forest | 2 | 0 | 1979, 1980 | — |
Porto | 2 | 0 | 1987, 2004 | — |
Celtic | 1 | 1 | 1967 | 1970 |
Hamburger SV | 1 | 1 | 1983 | 1980 |
Steaua București | 1 | 1 | 1986 | 1989 |
Marseille | 1 | 1 | 1993 | 1991 |
Borussia Dortmund | 1 | 1 | 1997 | 2013 |
Feyenoord | 1 | 0 | 1970 | — |
Aston Villa | 1 | 0 | 1982 | — |
PSV Eindhoven | 1 | 0 | 1988 | — |
Red Star Belgrade | 1 | 0 | 1991 | — |
Atlético Madrid | 0 | 3 | — | 1974, 2014, 2016 |
Reims | 0 | 2 | — | 1956, 1959 |
Valencia | 0 | 2 | — | 2000, 2001 |
Fiorentina | 0 | 1 | — | 1957 |
Eintracht Frankfurt | 0 | 1 | — | 1960 |
Partizan | 0 | 1 | — | 1966 |
Panathinaikos | 0 | 1 | — | 1971 |
Leeds United | 0 | 1 | — | 1975 |
Saint-Étienne | 0 | 1 | — | 1976 |
Borussia Mönchengladbach | 0 | 1 | — | 1977 |
Club Brugge | 0 | 1 | — | 1978 |
Malmö FF | 0 | 1 | — | 1979 |
Roma | 0 | 1 | — | 1984 |
Sampdoria | 0 | 1 | — | 1992 |
Bayer Leverkusen | 0 | 1 | — | 2002 |
Monaco | 0 | 1 | — | 2004 |
Arsenal | 0 | 1 | — | 2006 |
Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 | — | 2019 |
Paris Saint-Germain | 0 | 1 | — | 2020 |
Manchester City | 0 | 1 | — | 2021 |
Performances by nation
Teams from thirteen nations have been to 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 (11), England (6), 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.
Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Spain | 19 | 11 | 30 |
England | 14 | 11 | 25 |
Italy | 12 | 16 | 28 |
Germany | 8 | 10 | 18 |
Netherlands | 6 | 2 | 8 |
Portugal | 4 | 5 | 9 |
France | 1 | 6 | 7 |
Romania | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Scotland | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Yugoslavia | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Belgium | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Greece | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Images for kids
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Alfredo Di Stéfano in 1959. He led Real Madrid to win five consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960.
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Johan Cruyff holding the European Cup during celebrations in Amsterdam following Ajax's 1972 triumph
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A can of Heineken with the branding of the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final
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A.C. Milan’s Ronaldinho and Zlatan Ibrahimović surrounded by Real Madrid defenders during a Champions League group stage game in 2010
See also
In Spanish: Liga de Campeones de la UEFA para niños