Which Players And Clubs Have Won The Most Champions League Titles?
Which players, clubs and managers have won the most Champions League titles? We crunch the numbers to find out
Which players and clubs have won the most Champions League titles in history?
The Champions League is European football’s elite club competition and winning the prestigious trophy is one of the biggest honours in the sport.
Founded in 1955 as the Coupe des Clubs Champions Europeens, the competition was rebranded to be given its current name in 1992.
In recent years, the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona have dominated the competition.
The Champions League has also been lit up by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah in recent seasons, with the competition widely considered to be the pinnacle of world club football.
But who has had the most success in the tournament over the years? In this article, we’re going to take a look at the most successful clubs, players and managers in the Champions League, with data up to the start of the 2023-24 season.
So, with the introductions out of the way, let’s start taking a look at the most successful clubs in Champions League history.
Which Clubs Have Won The Most Champions League Titles?
So, which club is the most successful team in Champions League history? That accolade firmly belongs to Real Madrid. The La Liga side won the title once again in the 2021-22 season after beating Liverpool FC in the final, claiming their 14th European triumph.
Behind them are Italian side AC Milan, who have won the competition seven times. The last time Milan lifted the trophy was in the 2006-07 season, when they beat Liverpool FC in the final.
Mohamed Salah (Photo: Vitalii Kliuiev / depositphotos.com)
English club Liverpool FC are next on the list, tied in third place with FC Bayern Munich on six titles. The Reds last won the Champions League in the 2018-19 campaign, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the final.
Bundesliga side Bayern Munich have also won the title six times, the most recent of which was in the 2019-20 campaign, with the German club beating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0.
Other teams on the list are Chelsea FC, who have won two Champions League titles, and Manchester United, who have won the competition three times and last lifted the trophy in 2007-08 under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Clubs with the most Champions League titles:
(List only includes clubs which have won two titles or more)
• Real Madrid – 14 titles
• AC Milan – 7 titles
• Liverpool – 6 titles
• Bayern Munich – 6 titles
• FC Barcelona – 5 titles
• Ajax – 4 titles
• Manchester United – 3 titles
• Inter Milan – 3 titles
• Chelsea FC – 2 titles
• Nottingham Forest – 2 titles
• Benfica – 2 titles
• Juventus – 2 titles
• FC Porto – 2 titles
Which Players Have Won The Most Champions League Titles?
Now that we’ve taken a look at the most successful clubs in the history of the prestigious competition, it’s time to examine the players who have won the most Champions League titles.
In recent years, the names Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema spring to mind. However, there are plenty of players who have enjoyed multiple successes in the Champions League who are not household names.
For example, the likes of Casemiro, Marcelo and Daniel Carvajal have all won five Champions League titles playing for Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo is, of course, up there too, having won five Champions Leagues (one with Manchester United and two with Real Madrid).
Cristiano Ronaldo (Photo: Maciej Rogowski / depositphotos.com)
Other players on the list include Raphael Varane (4), Mateo Kovacic (4), Sergio Ramos (4), Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez (both 4), Lionel Messi (4) and Mateo Kovacic (4).
Top of the list is Real Madrid legend Francisco ‘Paco’ Gento, who as well as winning an astonishing 12 La Liga titles, also claimed six Champions League crowns during a sparkling career for the Spanish club.
Players with the most Champions League titles as of 2023:
(List only includes players who have won four titles or more)
• Francisco ‘Paco’ Gento (Real Madrid) – 6 titles
• Marcelo (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Casemiro (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Luka Modric (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Isco (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Nacho Fernandez (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United and Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Alessandro Costacurta (AC Milan) – 5 titles
• Paolo Maldini (AC Milan) – 5 titles
• Rafael Lesmes (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Enrique Mateos (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Jose Maria Zarraga (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Alfredo di Stefano (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Hector Rial (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Marquitos (Real Madrid) – 5 titles
• Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid and Chelsea FC) – 4 titles
• Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Andres Iniesta (FC Barcelona) – 4 titles
• Xavi Hernandez (FC Barcelona) – 4 titles
• Gerard Pique (Man United and FC Barcelona) – 4 titles
• Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) – 4 titles
• Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan) – 4 titles
• Phil Neal (Liverpool FC) – 4 titles
• Jose Santamaria (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Juan Santisteban (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Antonio Ruiz (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Joseito (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Juanito Alonso (Real Madrid) – 4 titles
Which Managers Have Won The Most Champions League Titles?
Carlo Ancelotti became the most decorated manager in Champions League history in 2022 when he oversaw Real Madrid’s final victory over Liverpool FC.
That win claimed the Italian a record fourth Champions League title as a manager, with Ancelotti having won the trophy twice with AC Milan and twice with Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane is also on the list, having won the trophy three times as a manager with Real Madrid (as well as once as a player).
Zinedine Zidane (Photo: UEFA / Handout)
So, which other managers feature on the list of the most successful coaches in Champions League history? Unsurprisingly, the likes of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are both up there, but there are also some other names that you may not be as familiar with.
Managers with the most Champions League titles as of 2022:
(List only includes managers who have won two titles or more)
• Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan and Real Madrid) – 4 titles
• Bob Paisley (Liverpool FC) – 3 titles
• Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) – 3 titles
• Pep Guardiola (FC Barcelona and Manchester City) – 3 titles
• Jose Villalonga (Real Madrid) – 2 titles
• Luis Carniglia (Real Madrid) – 2 titles
• Bella Guttmann (Benfica) – 2 titles
• Helenio Herrera (Inter Milan) – 2 titles
• Miguel Munoz (Real Madrid) – 2 titles
• Nereo Rocco (AC Milan) – 2 titles
• Stefan Kovacs (Ajax) – 2 titles
• Dettmar Cramer (Bayern Munich) – 2 titles
• Brian Clough (Nottingham Forest) – 2 titles
• Ernst Happel (Feyenoord and Hamburg) – 2 titles
• Arrigo Sacchi (AC Milan) – 2 titles
• Ottmar Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich) – 2 titles
• Vicente del Bosque (Real Madrid) – 2 titles
• Sir Alex Ferguson (Man United) – 2 titles
• Jose Mourinho (FC Porto and Inter Milan) – 2 titles
• Jupp Heynckes (Real Madrid and Bayern Munich) – 2 titles
Champions League – Did You Know?
At the time of writing, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the all-time top goal-scorer in the Champions League, with the Portuguese star having netted 140 goals in the competition with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Behind him is Lionel Messi, who has scored 125 times in the Champions League, with Robert Lewandowski third on the list, having hit 86 goals in the competition ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.
Meanwhile, as of the time of writing, only one team has won all of their matches in a single tournament en route winning the competition – Bayern Munich under Hansi Flick in the 2019–20 season.
At the time of writing, Spanish clubs have the highest number of Champions League titles (19), followed by England (15) and Italy (12). The Champions League has also only ever been won by 23 different clubs (as of 2023).
