10 most successful football clubs in Europe
The center of attention and attraction of world football has slowly shifted to club football in England and Spain with teams like Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal etc. grabbing most of the headlines in sports pages across the planet. The English and Spanish leagues are the most popular leagues among football fans with Italy and Germany falling well behind over the years. Barcelona and United, with their recent success rate, might be considered the top teams in the world right now, but they are not actually the most successful clubs around.
Before I am bombarded with hate and demeaning mails and comments by passionate supporters, I might need to clarify- Success here implies the total no. of trophies won by a club since it was founded and only major domestic, European and international titles are being considered. And I do understand that the standard of the leagues and level of competition might differ from country to country, but we are only talking about clubs with the most amount of silverware in their trophy cabinets.
1) Rangers (Scotland)- 115 trophies
Domestic honours
Scottish League Championships: 54
Scottish Cup: 33
Scottish League Cup: 27
European honours
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: One
2) Celtic (Scotland)- 92 trophies
Domestic honours
Scottish League Championships: 42
Scottish Cup: 35
Scottish League Cup: 14
European honours
European Cup: One
3) Real Madrid (Spain)- 74 trophies
Domestic honours:
La Liga – 31
Copa del Rey – 18
League Cup – One
Spanish Super Cup – Nine
European honours
European Cup/Champions League – Nine
UEFA Cup/Europa League – Two
UEFA Super Cup – One
International honours
Intercontinental Cup – Three
4) Barcelona (Spain)- 74 trophies
Domestic honours:
La Liga – 21
Copa Del Rey – 25
League Cup – Two
Spanish Super Cup – 13
European honours:
European Cup/Champions League – Four
Cup Winners’ Cup – Four
UEFA Super Cup – Four
International honours:
FIFA Club World Cup – One
5) Porto (Portugal)- 70 trophies
Domestic honours
Portuguese League – 25
Portuguese Cup – 20
Portuguese Super Cup – 18
European honours
European Cup/Champions League – Two
UEFA Cup/Europa League – Two
UEFA Super Cup – One
International honours
Intercontinental Cup – Two
6) Benfica (Portugal)- 68 trophies
Domestic honours
Primeira Liga- 32
Portuguese Cup- 27
League Cup- Three
Portuguese Super Cup- Four
European honours
European Cup/Champions League- Two
7) Ajax (Holland)- 65 trophies
Domestic Honours
Eredivise – 30
Dutch Cup – 18
Johan Cruyff Shield – Seven
European honours
European Cup/Champions League – Four
Cup Winners’ Cup – One
UEFA Cup/Europa League – One
UEFA Super Cup – Two
International honours
Intercontinental Cup – Two
8) Manchester United (England)- 60 trophies
Domestic honours
First Division/Premier League – 19
FA Cup – 11
League Cup – Four
Community Shield – 19
European honours
European Cup/Champions League – Three
Cup Winners’ Cup – One
UEFA Super Cup – One
International honours
Intercontinental Cup – One
Club World Cup – One
9) Liverpool (England)- 58 trophies
Domestic honours
First Division/Premier League – 18
FA Cup – Seven
League Cup – Seven
Charity/Comunity Shield – 15
European honours
European Cup/Champions League – Five
UEFA Cup/Europa League – Three
UEFA Super Cup – Three
10) Bayern Munich (German)- 55 trophies
Domestic honours
Bundesliga – 22
German Cup – 15
League Cup – Six
German Super Cup – Four
European honours
European Cup/Champions League – Four
Cup Winners’ Cup – One
UEFA Cup/Europa League – One
International honours
Intercontinental Cup – Two
Conspicuous by their absence- Juventus (50), AC Milan (47 trophies), PSV Eindhoven (39), Arsenal (38), Manchester City (13)
Other surprise names- Levski Sofia (55), Steaua Bucharest (52), Red Star Belgrade (50)