The latest winner

The most recent winner is Paris Saint-Germain. In the final of the 2025/26 season, played on 30 May 2026 at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, PSG beat Arsenal on penalties (4-3) after a 1-1 draw (following extra time). For PSG it was the second title in a row, after the 5-0 demolition of Inter in 2025.

Recent winners

The most recent years were dominated by Real Madrid, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. PSG broke through for the first time in 2025 and, with a second title in a row in 2026, confirmed their status as a new European heavyweight.

Clubs with the most titles

Real Madrid are the record holders by a distance. The roll of honour counts both the European Cup and the Champions League titles.

The roll of honour shows how rare lasting dominance is: only a handful of clubs have won the tournament more than three times. Real Madrid stand out completely with fifteen titles - more than double their nearest pursuer AC Milan - and built a genuine era over the past decade with five triumphs.

Individual records

• All-time top scorer: Cristiano Ronaldo, with 140 goals (Lionel Messi follows with 129).
• Most appearances: Cristiano Ronaldo, 183 matches in the main tournament.
• Most titles as a player: 6, shared by five Real Madrid players - Paco Gento and, more recently, Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, Dani Carvajal and Nacho Fernández.
• Most titles as a coach: Carlo Ancelotti, 5 times (with AC Milan and Real Madrid).

Many of those records carry the same signature: the Ronaldo and Messi era lifted the individual top-scorer totals to unprecedented heights, while the Real Madrid core of recent years accounts for the record number of titles per player. There is a standout on the bench too: for now, no coach matches Carlo Ancelotti's five trophies.

And the Belgian clubs?

A Belgian club has never won the top European cup. The closest was Club Brugge: in 1978, blue-and-black reached the European Cup final at Wembley, but lost there to Liverpool. Since then, the top prize has eluded Belgian clubs - all the more reason to follow the journey of Club Brugge and Union Saint-Gilloise this season. At the very highest level, a European main prize remains the great missing chapter in Belgian club football. Yet the recent campaigns show that these clubs are not afraid of an upset - and in the new format, with one big table and more marquee fixtures, there are more chances than ever to surprise the European elite.

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