European football is the most competitive for clubs. Spread across the continent and dominated mostly by six countries. Here are the World Most successful Clubs in Europe 2023
The domestic clubs fight for local and European glory every campaign. There are only a handful of clubs who have risen about the rest and have truly cemented themselves as true European giants.
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The greatest clubs in the world have won the Champions League. However, few have been able to achieve the feat more than once.
Below are top five (5) most successful European football clubs of all time based on major trophies won.
1. Real Madrid ( 100 Trophies):
Real Madrid have won 100 trophies. They are the most successful club in the history of football in Europe.
Real Madrid have won the champions league tournament 14 times. The Spanish giants won back-to-back UEFA Cups in the 1980s and also boast four UEFA Super Cups on their honors list.
Madrid claimed the Intercontinental Cup three times and have won the Club World Cup five times. They have a record of 35 domestic titles, plus 20 Spanish Cups, 12 Spanish Super Cups, and one victory in the defunct Spanish League Cup.
Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football.
Real Madrid was founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn a white home kit since its inception.
The honorific title real is Spanish for “royal” and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem.
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Real Madrid have played their home matches in the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947.
Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid’s members have owned and operated the club throughout its history.
The club is one of the most widely supported in the world, and is the most followed football club on social media and was estimated to be worth $5.1 billion in 2022, making it the world’s most valuable football club.
In 2023, it was the second highest-earning football club in the world, with an annual revenue of €713.8 million.
Being one of the three founding members of La Liga that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929 (along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona), Real Madrid holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and El Derbi Madrileño with Atlético Madrid.
The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s and 60s, winning five consecutive and six overall European Cups and reaching a further two finals.
This success was replicated on the domestic front, with Madrid winning twelve league titles in the span of 16 years.
Real Madrid is known for its policy, which involves signing the world’s best players, such as Ronaldo, Zidane, and David Beckham, to create a superstar team.
On 26th June 2009, Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a record breaking £80 million (€94 million), he became both the club and history’s all-time top goalscorer.
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Madrid have recently relaxed the Galácticos policy, instead focusing on signing young talents such as Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.
In domestic football, the club has won 69 trophies; a record 35 La Liga titles, 20 Copa del Rey, 12 Supercopa de España, a Copa Eva Duarte, and a Copa de la Liga.
In European football, Real Madrid have won a record 21 trophies; a record 14 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Cups, and a record, five UEFA Super Cups.
In worldwide competitions, they have achieved a record of eight club world championships. Madrid was ranked second in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 2000, 2002, 2014, 2017. In UEFA, Madrid ranks 1st in the all-time club ranking.
Real Madrid is recognized as the greatest football club of the 20th century by FIFA and as the best European club during the same timeframe by the IFFHS, whilst also receiving the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004.
Real Madrid has the highest participations in the European Cup/Champions League (42), tournament in which they hold the overall record for the most wins, most draws and most goals scored.
Real Madrid is the only club to have won three consecutive titles (three-peat) in the European Cup/Champions League twice, first in 1955–56, 1956–57, and 1957–58, and second in 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18.
In May 2022, they won a record-extending fourteenth Champions League title (the fifth in nine seasons), recognized by the Guinness World Records.
Real Madrid is the first club across all of Europe’s top five leagues to win 100 trophies in all competitions. As of March 2023, Real Madrid are ranked fifth in the UEFA club rankings and first in last ten-years (2013-2023) overall.
There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, where the game between Real Madrid and Barcelona is known as “The Classic” (El Clásico).
From the start of national competitions the clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions in Spain: Castile and Catalonia, as well as of the two cities.
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The rivalry reflects what many regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between the Castilians and Catalans, seen by one author as a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War.
Over the years, the record for Real Madrid and Barcelona is 100 victories for Madrid, 97 victories for Barcelona, and 52 draws.
2. FC Barcelona ( 91 trophies):
It has been nip and tuck between Barcelona and Real Madrid over the last few years. Barca have dropped off the pace lately, with no La Liga win since 2019.
The Catalan giants went trophyless in 2021-22, but picked up the 2023 Supercopa de España and the laliga title.
Following Lionel Messi departure, Barcelona appear to have got back on track under Xavi thanks to a raft of high-profile signings, including Robert Lewandowski.
Barcelona also known as Barça is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Barcelona was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”).
Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the third-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $5.51 billion, and the world’s fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €582.1 million.
Domestically, Barcelona has won a record of 77 trophies: 27 La Liga, 31 Copa del Rey, 14 Supercopa de España, three Copa Eva Duarte, and two Copa de la Liga titles, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions.
In international club football, the club has won 22 European and worldwide titles: five UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups, a joint record five UEFA Super Cups, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, a joint record two Latin Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups.
Barcelona was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, and occupies the ninth position on the UEFA club rankings as of May 2023.
The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico.
Barcelona is one of the most widely supported teams in the world alongside Madrid, and the club has one of the largest social media following in the world among sports teams.
Barcelona players have won a record twelve Ballon d’Or awards, with recipients including Johan Cruyff, as well as a record seven FIFA World Player of the Year awards, with winners including Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho.
In 2010, three players who came through the club’s youth academy (Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi) were chosen as the three best players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football academy.
Additionally, players representing the club have won a record eight European Golden Shoe awards.
Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid.
In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, and also became the first Spanish football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, by also winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
In 2011, the club became European champions again, winning five trophies. This Barcelona team, which won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some to be the greatest team of all time.
By winning their fifth Champions League trophy in 2015 under Luis Enrique, Barcelona became the first European football club in history to achieve the continental treble twice.
There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, where the game between Barcelona and Real Madrid is known as “The Classic” (El Clásico).
From the start of national competitions the clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions in Spain: Catalonia and Castile, as well as of the two cities.
The rivalry reflects what many regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians, seen by one author as a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War.
Over the years, the head-to-head record between the two clubs is 102 victories for Madrid, 100 victories for Barcelona, and 52 draws.
One of Barcelona’s rivals in European football is Italian club AC Milan. The team against which Barcelona has played the most matches (19), it is also the third most played match in European club competitions, behind Real Madrid vs Juventus (21) and Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich (26).
Two of the most successful clubs in Europe, Milan has won seven European Cups to Barça’s five, while both clubs have won a record five European Super Cups.
Barcelona and Milan have won other continental titles, which make them the second and third most decorated teams in world football, with 19 and 14 titles respectively, both behind Real Madrid’s 23.
Barcelona leads the head-to-head record with eight wins and five defeats. The first encounter between the two clubs was in the 1959/60 European Cup.
They faced off in the round of 16 and Barça won the tie on a 7:1 aggregate score (0:2 in Milan and 5:1 in Barcelona).
While Milan had never knocked Barcelona out of the European Cup, they beat Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team 4:0 in the 1994 Champions League final, despite being the underdogs.
In 2013, however, Barcelona made a “historic” comeback from a 0:2 first leg defeat in the round of 16 of the 2012/13 Champions League, winning 4:0 at the Camp Nou.
3. Bayern Munich (82 trophies):
Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria.
It is best known for its professional men’s football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system.
Bayern is the most successful club in German football history and one of the most successful in Europe, having won a record 33 national titles, including 11 consecutively since 2013, and 20 national cups, along with numerous European honours.
They’ve always had great squads with some of the best German players, and the current squad is no exception, which means that Bayern should have little trouble to add more trophies to their tally.
FC Bayern Munich was founded in 1900 by 11 football players, led by Franz John. Although Bayern won its first national championship in 1932, the club was not selected for the Bundesliga at its inception in 1963.
The club had its period of greatest success in the mid-1970s when, under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, they won the European Cup three consecutive times (1974–1976).
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Overall, Bayern have won six European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles (a German record), winning their sixth title in the 2020 final as part of the Treble, after which it became only the second European club to achieve the feat twice.
Bayern has also won one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and two Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally, and the only German club to have won both international titles.
Bayern players have accumulated five Ballon d’Or awards, two The Best FIFA Men’s Player awards, four European Golden Shoe and three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards, including UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
By winning the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, Bayern Munich became only the second club to win the “sextuple” (winning the League, Cup, and Champions League in one season followed by the Domestic Supercup, UEFA Supercup and Club World Cup in the next season), or all trophies that a club competes for in a given calendar year.
Bayern Munich are one of five clubs to have won all three of UEFA’s main club competitions, the only German club to achieve that.
As of May 2023, Bayern Munich are ranked second in UEFA club rankings. The club has traditional local rivalries with 1860 Munich and 1. FC Nürnberg.
Since the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Bayern has played its home games at the Allianz Arena. Previously, the team had played at Munich’s Olympiastadion for 33 years.
In terms of revenue, Bayern Munich is the largest sports club in Germany and the third highest-earning football club in the world, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, with a value of €634.1 million in 2021.
In August 2023, Bayern had more than 300,000 official members and 4,557 officially registered fan clubs, with over 362,000 members.
The club has other departments for chess, handball, basketball, gymnastics, bowling, table tennis and senior football, with more than 1,100 active members.
Bayern is one of three professional football clubs in Munich. Bayern’s main local rival is 1860 Munich, who was the more successful club in the 1950s and was controversially picked for the initial Bundesliga season in 1963, winning a cup and a championship.
In the 1970s and 1980s, 1860 Munich moved between the first and the third division. The Munich derby is still a much-anticipated event, getting much extra attention from supporters of both clubs. Despite the rivalry, Bayern has repeatedly supported 1860 in times of financial disarray.
4. FC Porto (80 trophies):
FC Porto is one of the most successful football clubs in Europe and has been ranked among the Top 10 for several years.
The club has a rich history and has won numerous titles and awards over the years. Porto was founded in 1893 and has been one of the most dominant forces in Portuguese football ever since.
The club has won the Primeira Liga, the top league in Portugal, a record 26 times and has also won the UEFA Champions League twice in 1987 and 2004.
One of the key factors that set Porto apart from other clubs is its success in European competitions. The club has been a regular participant in the UEFA Champions League and has reached the knockout stages of the competition on several occasions.
The club’s most memorable performance in the UEFA Champions League was in the 2003-2004 season when they won the tournament by beating AS Monaco in the final.
The club’s success in Europe has helped them to establish itself as one of the top teams in Europe and has put them in an elite group of clubs that have won the UEFA Champions League multiple times.
The club’s commitment to developing young talent has helped them to maintain their position as one of the top teams in Europe and has allowed them to continue to win titles and compete at the highest level. The club has established itself as one of the top teams in Europe and has a bright future ahead of it.
The football club was founded on 28th September 1893, Porto is one of the “Big Three” (Portuguese: Os Três Grandes) teams in Portugal – together with Lisbon-based rivals Benfica and Sporting CP, that have appeared in every season of the Primeira Liga since its establishment in 1934.
Porto are the second most decorated team in Portuguese football, with 80 major trophies. Domestically, these comprise 30 Portuguese league titles (five of which won consecutively between 1994–95 and 1998–99, a Portuguese football record), 19 Taça de Portugal, 4 Campeonato de Portugal, 1 Taça da Liga and a record 23 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.
Porto is one of two teams to have won the league title without defeats, in the 2010–11 and 2012–13 seasons.
In the former, Porto achieved the largest-ever difference of points between champion and runner-up in a three-points-per-win system (21 points), on their way to a second quadruple.
In international competitions, Porto is the most decorated Portuguese team, with seven trophies. They won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League in 1987 and 2004, the UEFA Cup/Europa League in 2003 and 2011, the UEFA Super Cup in 1987, and the Intercontinental Cup in 1987 and 2004.
In addition, they were runners-up in the 1983–84 European Cup Winners’ Cup, plus the 2003, 2004 and 2011 editions of the UEFA Super Cup.
Porto is the only Portuguese club to have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup, and to have achieved a continental treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European titles (2002–03 and 2010–11).
Porto have the third-most appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stage (23), behind Barcelona and Real Madrid (24).
In UEFA, Porto ranks 9th in the all-time club ranking and also ranked 20th in the club coefficient rankings at the end of the 2022–23 season.
Porto’s biggest rivalries are with the other Big Three members and regular league title contenders, Benfica and Sporting CP.
They stem from the historical, political, economic and cultural clash between the cities of Porto and Lisbon, where the other two clubs are based.
These rivalries became more intense in the past decades, particularly since Pinto da Costa assumed Porto’s presidency in 1982 and adopted a regionalistic and confrontational speech towards Lisbon.
In the following years, the club began establishing its dominance in Portuguese football, at the expense of Benfica and Sporting, who had been the traditional powers since the 1940s.
To Porto, the rivalry with Benfica is the strongest and most passionate, and it opposes the most representative football emblems from each city as well as the current most titled Portuguese clubs.
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The first match between Porto and Benfica – traditionally referred to as O Clássico (The Classic) this took place on 28th April 1912, and ended with a 2:8 win for Benfica; Porto’s first victory (3:2) came only in 1920.
As of the end of the 2014–15 season, the clubs have faced each other in 232 competitive matches, which have resulted in 89 wins for Porto, 86 for Benfica and 57 draws.
The first meeting between Porto and Sporting CP occurred on 30th November 1919, during a friendly tournament organised by Porto.
Their first official encounter was in the first leg of the final of the inaugural Campeonato de Portugal in 1922, which Porto won 2:1 and gained route to its first national title.
Since then, the clubs have met in 221 official matches, with 80 wins for Porto, 78 for Sporting CP and 63 draws.
Despite the rivalry, both clubs formed an alliance against Benfica in 2017. The club also has a strong rivalry with city rivals Boavista, sometimes called O Dérbi da Invicta.
And many more football clubs that has been successful in trophies and achievement. The above clubs are one of many.
