Who tops the all-time European Cup rankings?
Sunday, May 9, 2021
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Who are the best teams in the history of Europe's top club competition? Find out here.
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When it comes to Europe's top club competition, Real Madrid are some way out in front: as well as having won the most trophies, they have played, won, drawn and lost more games than any other side, as well as scoring and conceding the most goals.
Madrid have played in 51 editions of the European Cup and UEFA Champions League in total – 11 more than their closest rivals Benfica – and their total of 451 games in the elite competition is 89 more than the second-ranked team, Bayern München.
Clubs ranked on theoretical points total (2 pts win, 1 pt draw, results after extra time count, all matches that went to penalties count as draw).
Top 30 clubs (1955-2021)
| Club | Part | Titles | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Real Madrid (ESP) | 51 | 13 | 451 | 268 | 79 | 104 | 992 | 494 | 615 |
| 2. Bayern (GER) | 37 | 6 | 362 | 214 | 73 | 75 | 751 | 360 | 501 |
| 3. Barcelona (ESP) | 31 | 5 | 327 | 193 | 74 | 60 | 653 | 322 | 460 |
| 4. Manchester United (ENG) | 29 | 3 | 285 | 157 | 66 | 62 | 521 | 274 | 380 |
| 5. Juventus (ITA) | 35 | 2 | 287 | 147 | 69 | 71 | 459 | 278 | 363 |
| 6. AC Milan (ITA) | 28 | 7 | 249 | 125 | 64 | 60 | 416 | 231 | 314 |
| 7. Liverpool (ENG) | 25 | 6 | 227 | 127 | 49 | 51 | 423 | 202 | 303 |
| 8. Porto (POR) | 35 | 2 | 255 | 116 | 58 | 81 | 379 | 285 | 290 |
| 9. Benfica (POR) | 40 | 2 | 259 | 114 | 59 | 86 | 417 | 301 | 287 |
| 10. Ajax (NED) | 37 | 4 | 233 | 104 | 63 | 66 | 363 | 258 | 271 |
| 11. Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) | 37 | 0 | 242 | 101 | 53 | 88 | 344 | 297 | 255 |
| 12. Arsenal (ENG) | 21 | 0 | 201 | 101 | 43 | 57 | 332 | 218 | 245 |
| 13. Celtic (SCO) | 35 | 1 | 214 | 101 | 36 | 77 | 331 | 252 | 238 |
| 14. Chelsea (ENG) | 17 | 1 | 180 | 91 | 51 | 38 | 308 | 162 | 233 |
| 15. Inter Milan (ITA) | 22 | 3 | 184 | 87 | 50 | 47 | 262 | 186 | 224 |
| 16. Anderlecht (BEL) | 34 | 0 | 200 | 70 | 44 | 86 | 282 | 320 | 184 |
| 17. Atlético (ESP) | 16 | 0 | 144 | 72 | 37 | 35 | 212 | 133 | 181 |
| 18. Dortmund (GER) | 19 | 1 | 156 | 75 | 30 | 51 | 266 | 196 | 180 |
| 19. PSV (NED) | 28 | 1 | 177 | 64 | 41 | 72 | 231 | 224 | 169 |
| 20. Lyon (FRA) | 18 | 0 | 148 | 65 | 37 | 46 | 232 | 178 | 167 |
| 21. Crvena zvezda (SRB) | 26 | 1 | 143 | 67 | 31 | 45 | 260 | 194 | 165 |
| 22. Rangers (SCO) | 30 | 0 | 161 | 62 | 40 | 59 | 232 | 218 | 164 |
| 23. Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) | 14 | 0 | 127 | 69 | 23 | 35 | 252 | 145 | 161 |
| 24. Olympiacos (GRE) | 33 | 0 | 180 | 64 | 33 | 83 | 216 | 275 | 161 |
| 25. Galatasaray (TUR) | 26 | 0 | 175 | 57 | 43 | 75 | 213 | 272 | 157 |
| 26. Valencia (ESP) | 13 | 0 | 128 | 57 | 35 | 36 | 191 | 130 | 149 |
| 27. Rosenborg (NOR) | 25 | 0 | 152 | 58 | 31 | 63 | 224 | 232 | 147 |
| 28. FCSB (ROU) | 26 | 1 | 145 | 52 | 41 | 52 | 203 | 204 | 145 |
| 29. Panathinaikos (GRE) | 28 | 0 | 157 | 49 | 45 | 63 | 182 | 214 | 143 |
| 30. GNK Dinamo (CRO) | 22 | 0 | 136 | 55 | 28 | 53 | 203 | 193 | 138 |
Eleventh-ranked Dynamo Kyiv are the highest-ranked side never to have laid hands on the European Cup, or even reach the final.
Madrid have averaged a trophy for just under every 35 games they have played – a better record than any side in the top 30, but not as good as those of 1982 winners Aston Villa (one trophy in 15 games) or Nottingham Forest (two trophies in 20 games – one every ten European Cup matches). Since teams must now play at least 13 games to win the UEFA Champions League trophy, Forest's record is effectively unbeatable – provided they never qualify for Europe again and snarl up their average.
Legend
Pos: position; Part: number of UCL seasons; Pld: played; W: wins; D: draws; L: losses; F: goals for; A: goals against; Pts: theoretical points total