UEFA Champions League

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Introduced in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup and commonly known as the European Cup, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champions of Europe's domestic leagues, with its winner considered to be the European club champion. The competition took on its current name in 1992, adding a round-robin group stage in 1991 and allowing multiple entrants from certain countries since the 1997–98 season. Spanish clubs have the most victories (20 wins), followed by England (15 wins), Italy (12 wins), Germany (8 wins), Netherlands (6 wins), Portugal (4 wins) and France (3 wins). Real Madrid is the most successful club in the tournament's history, having won it 15 times. Paris Saint-Germain are the current European champions, having beaten Arsenal on penalties in the 2026 final for their second consecutive title.

In Their Own Story

May 28, 2011. The new Wembley Stadium in London hosted its first European Cup final, having opened in 2007. The match was a repeat of the 2009 final held in Rome, which Barcelona won 2–0. Both teams entered the competition having won it three times previously; Barcelona in 1992, 2006 and 2009. Barcelona dominated the match, controlling 68% of possession and having 22 attempts on goal compared to United's four. Barcelona took the lead in the 27th minute when Xavi played in Pedro, who struck from inside the penalty area. Wayne Rooney scored for Manchester United to level the score going into half-time. But Barcelona's quality shone through in the second half, with Lionel Messi and David Villa scoring to secure a 3–1 victory. As a result, Barcelona qualified to play against Porto, the winners of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, and they also earned a place in the semi-finals of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup as the UEFA representative.

Reader's Guide

In its present format, the Champions League begins in early July with three qualifying rounds and a play-off round, all played over two legs. The seven surviving teams enter the league phase, joining 29 teams qualified in advance. The 36 teams each play eight opponents, four home and four away. The 24 highest-ranked teams proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match in late May or early June. The winner of the Champions League automatically qualifies for the following season's Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, and the quadrennial FIFA Club World Cup.

Did You Know?

• Only one club has won all of their matches in a single tournament en route to their tournament victory: Bayern Munich in the 2019–20 season.
• Since the tournament changed name and structure in 1992, only two top-tier football clubs outside the Big Five European nations (Spain, England, Italy, Germany and France) have also reached the final: Porto (2003–04) and
• The first European Cup match took place on 4 September 1955, and ended in a 3–3 draw between Sporting CP and Partizan.