The competition, briefly
The competition was established in 1955 and was called the European Cup until it was renamed ahead of the 1992–93 season. Every record below spans both eras, because they are the same trophy and the same lineage.
In seventy years, 24 clubs have won it.
Most titles: Real Madrid, and it is not close
Real Madrid hold fifteen titles, including the very first edition in 1956.
They also hold the record for consecutive wins, with five straight titles from 1956 to 1960 — a run that has never been approached since, and which the current format makes structurally harder to repeat.
By country, Spain has produced the most champions with twenty wins from just two clubs. England has fifteen wins from a record six different clubs — the widest spread of any nation. Italy has twelve from three.
That English figure comes with an asterisk that is part of the record: English clubs were banned from European competition for five years after the Heysel disaster in 1985.
The multiple-winner badge
A club that wins the competition three times in a row, or five times in total, earns the multiple-winner badge worn on the shirt in European competition.
Six clubs have earned it: Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Liverpool and Barcelona.
There used to be a second prize attached. Until 2009, a club reaching that threshold was allowed to keep the European Champion Clubs' Cup itself, and UEFA commissioned a new one. Since 2009 the winners each year receive a full-size replica and UEFA retains the original trophy.
The records nobody wants
Juventus have lost seven finals — more than any other club.
Atlético Madrid are the only side to have reached three finals without ever winning the trophy. Reims, Valencia and Arsenal have each finished runners-up twice without winning it.
And then there is the cruellest category in the competition's history. The venue for the final is chosen years in advance, and on four occasions a club has reached a final scheduled for its own stadium.
Two of them took the chance. Real Madrid won their second European Cup at the Santiago Bernabéu in 1957, and Inter Milan won their second at the San Siro in 1965.
The other two lost — both on penalties. Roma were beaten by Liverpool at the Stadio Olimpico in 1984, and Bayern Munich were beaten by Chelsea at the Allianz Arena in 2012.
The current holders
Paris Saint-Germain are the reigning champions, having won the 2026 final 4–3 on penalties against Arsenal after a 1–1 draw following extra time.
It is PSG's second title. For Arsenal it was a second final lost without a win — which is how they join Reims and Valencia in the runners-up column above.
A note on how these records are counted
Records in this competition are usually quoted for the combined European Cup and Champions League era, which is why Real Madrid's total includes titles from the 1950s and why Ajax's badge rests substantially on the early 1970s.
Appearance and goalscoring records are counted differently by different sources depending on whether qualifying rounds are included, so they are deliberately left out here rather than quoted with a caveat that most readers will not notice. The club records above are drawn from the finals record itself, where the count is unambiguous.