The UEFA Champions League first started in 1955 as the European Cup and was a straight-up knockout tournament. The French football magazine L’Equipe selected the participating teams in the first five seasons, with Real Madrid establishing a stronghold by winning the title in each season.
Since the tournament’s inception, the Los Blancos have lifted the title 14 times, the most any club has ever managed. After winning the first five editions, Madrid dominated the continental championship once again from 2013, winning four of the five editions, including three in a row from 2016 to 2018.
Spanish teams have won the title an impressive 19 times, making them the undisputed kings of the tournament. English sides come in second, having won the competition 14 times while teams from Italy have been European champions on 12 occasions.
European Cup winners list
| Team | Winner | Runner-up |
| 1955-56 | Real Madrid | Reims |
| 1956-57 | Real Madrid | Fiorentina |
| 1957-58 | Real Madrid | AC Milan |
| 1958-59 | Real Madrid | Reims |
| 1959-60 | Real Madrid | Eintracht Frankfurt |
| 1960-61 | Benfica | Barcelona |
| 1961-62 | Benfica | Real Madrid |
| 1962-63 | AC Milan | Benfica |
| 1963-64 | Inter Milan | Real Madrid |
| 1964-65 | Inter Milan | Benfica |
| 1965-66 | Real Madrid | Partizan |
| 1966-67 | Celtic | Inter Milan |
| 1967-68 | Manchester United | Benfica |
| 1968-69 | AC Milan | Ajax |
| 1969-70 | Feyenoord | Celtic |
| 1970-71 | Ajax | Panathinaikos |
| 1971-72 | Ajax | Inter Milan |
| 1972-73 | Ajax | Juventus |
| 1973-74 | Bayern Munich | Atletico Madrid |
| 1974-75 | Bayern Munich | Leeds United |
| 1975-76 | Bayern Munich | Saint Etienne |
| 1976-77 | Liverpool | Borussia Monchengladbach |
| 1977-78 | Liverpool | Club Brugge |
| 1978-79 | Nottingham Forest | Malmo FF |
| 1979-80 | Nottingham Forest | Hamburger SV |
| 1980-81 | Liverpool | Real Madrid |
| 1981-82 | Aston Villa | Bayern Munich |
| 1982-83 | Hamburger SV | Juventus |
| 1983-84 | Liverpool | Roma |
| 1984-85 | Juventus | Liverpool |
| 1985-86 | Steaua Bucuresti | Barcelona |
| 1986-87 | Porto | Bayern Munich |
| 1987-88 | PSV Eindhoven | Benfica |
| 1988-89 | AC Milan | Steaua Bucuresti |
| 1989-90 | AC Milan | Benfica |
| 1990-91 | Red Star Belgrade | Marseille |
| 1991-92 | Barcelona | Sampdoria |
By the 1992-93 football season, European Cup was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League while undergoing severe changes in the format, including the round-robin structure that allowed teams from multiple countries to participate.
French side Marseille won the first edition of the rebranded UEFA Champions League in the 1992-93 season, beating Italian giants AC Milan 1-0 in the final.
Since the restructure, Real Madrid have won the most UEFA Champions League titles (8). Cristiano Ronaldo, Real’s all-time top scorer and Manchester United’s current frontman, has made the most appearances (183) and is also the top scorer (140) in the competition.
After Real Madrid, AC Milan have appeared in the most UEFA Champions League finals (6) but have won the title just thrice since 1993. The biggest upset in UEFA Champions League history occurred in the 2003-04 season when a Jose Mourinho-led FC Porto side defeated a star-studded AS Monaco team 3-0 to lift the title. They are the only Portuguese team to win the title since 1993.
UEFA Champions League winners list
| Team | Winner | Runner-up |
| 1992-93 | Marseille | AC Milan |
| 1993-94 | AC Milan | Barcelona |
| 1994-95 | Ajax | AC Milan |
| 1995-96 | Juventus | Ajax |
| 1996-97 | Borussia Dortmund | Juventus |
| 1997-98 | Real Madrid | Juventus |
| 1998-99 | Manchester United | Bayern Munich |
| 1999-00 | Real Madrid | Valencia |
| 2000-01 | Bayern Munich | Valencia |
| 2001-02 | Real Madrid | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2002-03 | AC Milan | Juventus |
| 2003-04 | Porto | Monaco |
| 2004-05 | Liverpool | AC Milan |
| 2005-06 | Barcelona | Arsenal |
| 2006-07 | AC Milan | Liverpool |
| 2007-08 | Manchester United | Chelsea |
| 2008-09 | Barcelona | Manchester United |
| 2009-10 | Inter Milan | Bayern Munich |
| 2010-11 | Barcelona | Manchester United |
| 2011-12 | Chelsea | Bayern Munich |
| 2012-13 | Bayern Munich | Borussia Dortmund |
| 2013-14 | Real Madrid | Atletico Madrid |
| 2014-15 | Barcelona | Juventus |
| 2015-16 | Real Madrid | Atletico Madrid |
| 2016-17 | Real Madrid | Juventus |
| 2017-18 | Real Madrid | Liverpool |
| 2018-19 | Liverpool | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2019-20 | Bayern Munich | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2020-21 | Chelsea | Manchester City |
| 2021-22 | Real Madrid | Liverpool |
| 2022-23 | Manchester City | Inter Milan |
Featured photo: Paul ELLIS / AFP
