In 1955, it started to be organized under the name "European Champion Clubs Cup" with a double-match elimination system. During this period, only teams that had won their country's top league as champions in the previous season could participate in the championship. With the 1991-92 season, the format was changed and the group stage, organized by league method, was added to the tournament.
With the 1992-93 season, the name of the organization was changed to its current form. With the 1996-97 season, in addition to the national champions, some teams that finished their leagues behind the champions according to the UEFA ranking of the countries began to participate in the tournament. Nowadays, a maximum of five teams from the same country can compete in a season.
Due to their position in the league, the teams behind the teams participating in the Champions League can participate in the UEFA Europa League, which is a lower level of the Champions League.
According to the current format, a season of the tournament starts in mid-July. After three qualifying rounds and a play-off round with a double-match elimination system, the league stage with a total of 36 teams begins. Teams are divided into 4 bags. They play a total of 8 matches, with 2 opponents from each bag, and are ranked according to their points in the league stage.
The top 8 teams based on their points advance directly to the last 16. The teams between 9-24 in the rankings play in the play-offs, and the 8 teams that pass the round compete in the last 16. At the end of the last 16, quarter and semi-final matches played with a double-match elimination system, the season ends with the one-legged final match played in May. The champion team is entitled to compete in the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
To date, 24 different teams from 10 different countries have won the UEFA Champions League and 12 teams have won more than one championship. While the team with the most championships is Real Madrid, with 15 championships won, Spanish teams are the most successful country in the history of the tournament with 20 championships won in total.
In addition, Real Madrid achieved the longest championship streak by becoming champions five times in a row in the first five seasons of the cup.
The team that won the championship in the 2025-26 season, which is the last completed season of the tournament, is Paris Saint-Germain.
Date
Founding, 1950s and 1960s
After the first congress of UEFA held in Vienna on 2 March 1955, it was decided to establish a tournament throughout Europe. While it was initially thought that this tournament would be at the national team level, it was decided to hold a tournament on a club basis, based on the tournament draft prepared by Gabriel Hanot, editor of the French sports newspaper L'Équipe, and Jacques Ferran, who worked for the same newspaper.
According to the draft, the matches would be played on Wednesdays. Representatives of 16 teams, seen as the most popular teams in their countries by L'Équipe, were invited to the meetings held on 2-3 April 1955. UEFA contacted FIFA regarding the issue and announced that a tournament called the European Champion Clubs' Cup would be organized at the meeting held on 21 June, following the acceptance of the conditions presented by FIFA at the meeting held in London on 8 May 1955.
The 1955-56 season, the first season of the tournament, which was held with the double-match elimination system and with the participation of 16 teams, each from a different country, started with the match played between Sporting and Partizan on September 4. Spanish team Real Madrid finished the season as champion. The following season, with the number of teams increasing, a qualifying round began to be organized.
While Real Madrid was the team that won the championship in the first five seasons, the 7-3 victory against the German representative Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1959-60 season final is still the highest scoring final today. Real Madrid's five-season championship streak is also the longest championship streak in the history of the tournament.
While the Portuguese team Benfica won the championship in the 1960-61 and 1961-62 seasons, the Italian representatives were the teams that won the tournament in the next three seasons. Milan won the championship in the 1962-63 season, and Internazionale won the championship in the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons. The following season, Real Madrid became champion once again, while the next two seasons witnessed the championships of British teams.
Scotland's Celtic team completed the tournament as champions in the 1966-67 season, and England's Manchester United team completed the tournament as champions in the 1967-68 season. The 1968-69 season ended with Milan's championship.
1970s and 1980s
Dutch teams reached the championship in the following four seasons, starting with the 1969-70 season. First, Feyenoord, and in the next three seasons, Ajax became the champion team. With the 1973-74 season, a German team, Bayern München, won the championship for the first time, and the following two seasons ended with this team's championship.
With the 1976-77 season, English clubs started to win championships. First Liverpool, then Nottingham Forest achieved this success twice in a row, and in the following seasons, Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively. After the 1982-83 season, when Germany's Hamburger won the championship, Liverpool won another championship.
During the 1984-85 season, before the final match between the Italian team Juventus and Liverpool at the Heysel Stadium on May 29, 1985, 39 people lost their lives in the incident that occurred when Liverpool fans attacked Juventus fans, and the wall of the stadium collapsed on the fans trying to escape from the stadium and some fans were trapped.
While Juventus was the winner of the match, following this incident, British teams were banned from international matches for 5 years and Liverpool was banned for 6 years.
Starting from the 1985-86 season, Steaua București from Romania, Porto from Portugal and PSV from the Netherlands achieved their first European Champion Clubs' Cup championships in their history. In the 1988-89 season, Milan won the cup after a 20-year break.
Status
The status of the Champions League has changed many times since 1992. The system implemented today has been continuing since 2003.
A total of 80 teams from 55 UEFA member countries, excluding Liechtenstein, compete in the UEFA Champions League, including teams directly participating in the qualifying rounds and group matches. Each country participates with a number of teams determined according to the UEFA countries' rankings.
According to UEFA country score rankings;
- 1-5. next countries, 4
- 6th ranked country, 3
- 7-15. next countries, 2
- Countries ranked 16th and below are represented in the championship with one team each.
The UEFA country rankings also determine which team will start the tournament from which tier. The last champion and the league champions, runners-up and third-place finishers of the top three countries in the rankings, the champions and runners-up of the countries between 4th and 6th, and the champions of the countries between 7th and 12th participate directly in the group matches without playing in the qualifying rounds.
If the last champion enters his own league classification, the champion of the 13th ranked country directly participates in the group matches. Other teams start from the qualifying rounds.
Matches are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The group stage, consisting of 8 groups with a total of 32 teams, four teams each, is played between the 10 teams that passed the 4-round preliminaries in July and August and the 22 teams directly participating in the group matches. The top 2 teams in the groups continue the competition with the double elimination system, while the third teams participate in the UEFA Europa League and continue in the 3rd round (round of 32).
The 2nd round, quarter and semi-finals are played by double elimination method. The final match is played as a single match on a neutral field.
UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi grup aşamasına, 1992-93 sezonundan beri (2014-15 dahil), toplam 31 ülkeden 130 farklı takım katılmıştır. In 23 seasons, Manchester United (ENG) 19 times, Porto (POR) 19 times, Barcelona (İSP) 19 times, Real Madrid (İSP) 19 times, Bayern Munich (ALM) 18 times, Milan (İTA) 17 times and Arsenal (ENG) 17 times are the teams that participated in the groups the most.
Arsenal has participated 17 times in total since the 1998-99 season. Another record is that Spanish Real Madrid won the Champions League for five consecutive years (1956-1960).
Anthem
The UEFA Champions League Anthem is simply the official anthem of the UEFA Champions League. Composed in 1992 by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, St. It was sung by the Martin Academy Choir in English, French and German, the official languages of UEFA. This anthem is used at the start of every Champions League match, console games and television programmes.
Distribution of teams
If the Champions League or Europa League champions qualify for the tournament through their domestic league, changes will be made to the access list above.
- If the Champions League title holders advance to the group stage through their domestic leagues, the 11th national champions enter the group stage and the champions of the highest-ranked associations in the previous rounds advance accordingly.
- If the Europa League title holders advance to the group stage through their domestic league, the third-placed team from the 5th nation enters the group stage and the runners-up from the highest-ranked associations in the second qualifying round advance accordingly.
- If the Champions League or Europa League title holders qualify for the knockout rounds through their domestic league, their place in the knockout rounds becomes vacant and the teams from the highest-ranked associations in the previous rounds advance accordingly.
- A country can have a maximum of five teams in the Champions League. Therefore, if both the Champions League and Europa League titles come from the same top four countries and they finish outside the top four in their domestic leagues, the league's fourth-place team will not compete in the Champions League. Instead, he will compete in the Europa League.
prize money
As of the 2024-25 season, he earns €18,620,000 for participation in the group stage and €2,100,000 for each win in the group stage and €700,000 for a draw. In groups, teams from 1st to 8th place receive €2,000,000, teams from 9th to 16th place receive €1,000,000, and each team receives a share based on its ranking, each share worth €275,000 (36th Team 1 Share, 1st Team 36 Shares).
Teams participating in the last 16 Play-off rounds will be paid 1,000,000 €, teams participating in the last 16 rounds will be paid 11,000,000 €, teams in the quarter-finals will be paid 12,500,000 €, teams in the semi-finals will be paid 15,000,000, and teams in the finals will be paid 18,500,000. The team that wins the cup receives an extra payment of 6,500,000.
Until the 2023-24 season, each team that advances to the Play-off round earns €5,000,000, and each team eliminated earns €3,000,000. Earns €15,640,000 for participation in the group stage and €2,800,000 for each win in the group stage, €900,000 for a draw. Teams participating in the last 16 rounds will be paid 9,600,000, teams in the quarter-finals will be paid 6,000,000, teams in the semi-finals will be paid 7,000,000, and the team that loses the final will be paid 10,500,000. The team that wins the cup receives a payment of 15,000,000.
UEFA pays the money it distributes to the teams from the pool. The budget of the pool is determined by the broadcasting rights revenues of the championship.
- Participation fee in the league stage: 18.620.000 €
- League match win: €2,100,000
- League match draw: €700,000
- Last 16 Play-off round: €1,000,000
- Round of 16: €11,000,000
- Quarter final: €12,500,000
- Semi-final: €15,000,000
- Second: €18,500,000
- In addition to the champion team: €6,500,000
sponsorship
The UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a conglomerate of international companies. In 1992, the sponsorship criteria were renewed, as was the status of the cup. Accordingly, a maximum of eight sponsorship agreements can be made, four billboards will be allocated in the field for each company, and logos will be included in a certain portion of the tickets.
Billboards have sometimes come under criticism for the size of billboards in British stadiums. Advertising boards placed in front of classic English-style stadiums that are intertwined with the field, such as Old Trafford, Anfield, Celtic Park and Stamford Bridge, are often criticized because they reduce the viewing angle of the spectators sitting in the front seats.
The main source of these criticisms is that among these fans there are also disabled people who have to use wheelchairs and that it is difficult for these people to change their seat.
The current main sponsors of the tournament are:
- heineken
- MasterCard
- PepsiCo
- Pepsi/Pepsi Max, Gatorade, and Lay's/Walkers are advertised brands. It has also been seen that the Ruffles brand is advertised on television.
- Sony's subsidiary brand PlayStation is being advertised.
- FedEx
- Just Eat/Takeaway
- Crypto.com
- Bet365
- Qatar Airways
Adidas is the secondary sponsor of the tournament and, as in all UEFA tournaments, provides sporting needs such as official match balls and referee jerseys for the Adidas Finale. Konami was the official video game sponsor from 2010 to 2018 with the Pro Evolution Soccer series. After that year, Electronic Arts company licensed the UEFA tournaments starting from FIFA 19 for the EA SPORTS FIFA series. Hublot is the sponsor of the electronic signs used by the fourth referees in the organization.
Sponsors of the Champions League are also sponsors of the UEFA Super Cup
sponsorship
Like the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by multiple companies. When the Champions League was created in 1992, it was decided that a maximum of eight companies could sponsor and each would be given four billboards around the pitch, pre- and post-match interviews and a certain number of tickets. This, together with an agreement to ensure that the tournament's sponsors would be given priority in television advertising during the match, ensured that the main sponsors were the main focus.
The main sponsors of the tournament between 2021-2024:
- Oppo
- FedEx
- Turkish Airlines
- Heineken N.V.
- Heineken (except Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Norway and Türkiye)
- Heineken Silver
- Just Eat Takeaway
- 10bis (only in Israel)
- Menulog (Australasia only)
- Bistro (only in Slovakia)
- Just Eat (in Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, UK)
- Lieferando (only in Germany and Austria)
- Pyszne (only in Poland)
- Grubhub and Seamless (US only)
- SkipTheDishes (Canada only)
- Takeaway (only in Belgium, Bulgaria and Luxembourg)
- Thuisbezorgd (only in the Netherlands)
- MasterCard
- PepsiCo
- Pepsi
- Pepsi Max
- Lay's (outside Australasia, Balkans, Türkiye, Ireland and the UK)
- Smith's (Australasia only)
- Walkers (UK and Ireland only)
- Ruffles (only in Türkiye)
- Chipsy (in Croatia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia)
- Rockstar
- sony
- PlayStation 5
- Socios.com (US only)
Adidas is a secondary sponsor and provides the match ball, Macron provides the referees' jerseys. Hublot also provides the fourth referee signs.
If the teams are going to play in a country where there is a ban on advertising alcohol and betting sites, sponsorship signs of these products will not be used. An example of this is the logo and other advertising signs of Carlsberg, Liverpool's sponsor, during the Olympique Lyon-Liverpool match played in France, due to the advertising ban on alcoholic beverages in France.
In 2008, in the Fenerbahçe-Sevilla match played in the last 16 of the Champions League, Sevilla had to wear jerseys without advertisements on the grounds that the chest advertisement carried the name of an illegal betting company (888.com). In addition, Real Madrid, which competed with Galatasaray in the quarter-final rematch in the 2012-13 season, played on the field with jerseys without advertisements, since the Austrian-based betting company Bwin, which it carries as a sponsor on its jersey, is not a legal betting company in Türkiye.
In the 2020-21 season, the team carried the advertisement of the Greek betting company Stoiximan.gr on the jersey of the Greek team Olympiakos, and carried it under the name of iroes when the French team went to Marseille away, since the betting company is not legal in the country and outside the borders of Greece.
Publishing rights
There is no country in Europe where the championship is not broadcast, and it is broadcast in 40 languages in a total of 70 countries, including countries outside Europe. The 2009 UEFA Champions League final was watched by 109 million people and became the highest-rated program of that year, surpassing the Super Bowl XLIII match watched by 106 million people.
Champions
- Real Madrid — 3 — 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024 — 1962, 1964, 1981
- Milan — 4 — 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 — 1958, 1993, 1995, 2005
- Bayern München — 5 — 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, 2020 — 1982, 1987, 1999, 2010, 2012
- Liverpool — 4 — 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019 — 1985, 2007, 2018, 2022
- Barcelona — 3 — 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015 — 1961, 1986, 1994
- Ajax — 2 — 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995 — 1969, 1996
- Internazionale — 4 — 1964, 1965, 2010 — 1967, 1972, 2023, 2025
- Manchester United — 2 — 1968, 1999, 2008 — 2009, 2011
- Juventus — 7 — 1985, 1996 — 1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2015, 2017
- Benfica — 5 — 1961, 1962 — 1963, 1965, 1968, 1988, 1990
- Chelsea — 1 — 2012, 2021 — 2008
- Paris Saint-Germain — 1 — 2025, 2026 — 2020
- Nottingham Forest — – — 1979, 1980 — –
- Porto — – — 1987, 2004 — –
- Borussia Dortmund — 2 — 1997 — 2013, 2024
- Manchester City — 1 — 2023 — 2021
- Celtic — 1 — 1967 — 1970
- Hamburg — 1 — 1983 — 1980
- Steaua București — 1 — 1986 — 1989
- Marseille — 1 — 1993 — 1991
- Feyenoord — – — 1970 — –
- Aston Villa — – — 1982 — –
- PSV — – — 1988 — –
- Crvena zvezda — – — 1991 — –
Statistics and records
Most played players
- As of August 14, 2024
The table below does not include statistics in the knockout stage of the organization and the European Champion Clubs' Cup.
- 1 — 183 — 2003-2022 — Manchester United (59), Real Madrid (101), Juventus (23)
- 2 — 177 — 1999-2019 — Real Madrid (150), Porto (27)
- 3 — 163 — 2005-2023 — Barcelona (149), Paris Saint-Germain (14)
- 4 — 152 — 2005-2023 — Lyon (19), Real Madrid (133)
- 5 — 151 — 1998-2015 — Barcelona (151)
- 5 — 151 — 2009-2025 — Bayern München (151)
- 5 — 151 — 2008-2024 — Bayern München (41), Real Madrid (110)
- 8 — 142 — 1995-2011 — Real Madrid (130), Schalke 04 (12)
- 9 — 141 — 1993-2014 — Manchester United (141)
- 10 — 142 — 2005-2024 — Real Madrid (129), Paris Saint-Germain (8), Sevilla (5)
top scorer
- As of 27 November 2024
The table below does not include goals scored in the knockout stage of the event.
Players written Bold are still continuing their football careers.
- 1 — Cristiano Ronaldo — 140 — 183 — 0.76 — 2003-2022 — Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus
- 2 — Lionel Messi — 129 — 163 — 0.81 — 2005-2023 — Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain
- 3 — Robert Lewandowski — 100 — 125 — 0.76 — 2011- — Borussia Dortmund, Bayern München, Barcelona
- 4 — Karim Benzema — 90 — 152 — 0.50 — 2005-2023 — Lyon, Real Madrid, Schalke 04
- 5 — Raúl González — 71 — 142 — 0.55 — 1995-2011 — Lyon,Real Madrid
- 6 — Ruud van Nistelrooy — 56 — 73 — 0.77 — 1998-2009 — PSV,Manchester United,Real Madrid
- 7 — Thierry Henry — 50 — 112 — 0.45 — 1997-2012 — Monaco,Arsenal,Barcelona
- 8 — Alfredo Di Stéfano — 49 — 58 — 0.84 — 1955-1964 — Real Madrid
- 9 — Andriy Shevchenko — 48 — 100 — 0.48 — 1994-2012 — Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea
- 9 — Zlatan Ibrahimović — 48 — 120 — 0.40 — 2001-2023 — Ajax,Juventus,Internazionale,Barcelona,Milan,Paris Saint-Germain,Manchester United
- 11 — Thomas Müller — 47 — 121 — 0.39 — 2008-2025 — Bayern München
- 12 — Filippo Inzaghi — 46 — 81 — 0.57 — 1992-2012 — Juventus,Milan
- 12 — Eusébio — 46 — 65 — 0.71 — 1960-1975 — Benfica
- 14 — Didier Drogba — 44 — 92 — 0.48 — 1997-2015 — Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray
- 15 — Alessandro Del Piero — 42 — 89 — 0.47 — 1993-2012 — Juventus
- 16 — Neymar — 41 — 65 — 0.63 — 2013-2023 — Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain
- 16 — Sergio Agüero — 41 — 75 — 0.55 — 2006-2021 — Atletico Madrid,Manchester City
See also
- UEFA Champions League all-time standings
