Champions League records and historic milestones
As the new UEFA Champions League season gets underway, the continent’s premier club competition enters another campaign with a long list of historic records and milestones.
Galatasaray and Fenerbahce will be among the teams competing this season, while Real Madrid remains the most successful club in the tournament’s history and Cristiano Ronaldo its leading scorer.
Real Madrid stands alone
Real Madrid has won the Champions League 15 times, more than any other club.
The Spanish giants lifted the trophy in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2024.
Milan are second with seven titles, followed by Liverpool and Bayern Munich with six each and Barcelona with five.
Real Madrid have also played more Champions League matches than any other club, appearing in 517 games. They are the only team to have passed the 500-match mark.
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts
Cristiano Ronaldo is the Champions League’s all-time leading scorer.
The Portuguese star scored 141 goals in 187 appearances for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Lionel Messi is second with 129 goals in 163 matches for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Ronaldo also holds the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single Champions League season, with 17 for Real Madrid in 2013-14.
Salah owns fastest hat-trick
Mohamed Salah holds the record for the fastest hat-trick in Champions League history.
The Egyptian scored three goals in six minutes and 12 seconds for Liverpool against Rangers in 2022.
Salah came off the bench and scored in the 75th, 80th and 81st minutes as Liverpool won 7-1 in Glasgow.
Messi and Ronaldo share hat-trick record
Messi and Ronaldo have each scored eight Champions League hat-tricks, the joint-highest total in the competition.
The two forwards have dominated the tournament’s scoring records for more than a decade.
Fati and Yamal among youngest scorers
Ansu Fati became the youngest player to score in the Champions League when he found the net against Inter at the age of 17 years and 40 days in the 2019-20 season.
Barcelona teammate Lamine Yamal is second after scoring against Monaco at 17 years and 68 days during the 2024-25 campaign.
Kenan Yildiz is the youngest Turkish player to score in the competition. The Juventus forward scored against PSV at the age of 20 years and four months.
Pepe becomes oldest scorer
Former Besiktas defender Pepe holds the record as the oldest player to score in the Champions League.
The Portuguese defender scored for Porto against Antwerp in the 2023-24 season at the age of 40 years and 254 days.
The goal made him the first player aged over 40 to score in the competition.
Seedorf achieves unique feat
Clarence Seedorf remains the only player to win the Champions League with three different clubs.
The Dutch midfielder won the trophy with Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007.
Seven have won as player and coach
Seven men have won the Champions League both as players and as coaches.
The list includes Miguel Munoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti, Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane.
Amokachi scored first Champions League goal
Daniel Amokachi scored the first goal after the European Cup was renamed the Champions League in 1992.
The Nigerian scored for Club Brugge against CSKA Moscow in the 17th minute to claim a place in the competition’s history.
PSG holds final winning margin record
Paris Saint-Germain recorded the biggest victory in a Champions League final when they defeated Inter 5-0 in the 2024-25 final.
The result established the largest winning margin ever recorded in the tournament’s showpiece match.
Calhanoglu makes Turkish history
Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu became the first Turkish international to play in two Champions League finals.
He featured in Inter’s 2023 final against Manchester City and their 2025 final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Inter lost both finals.
Guler makes history with Real Madrid
Arda Guler became the first Turkish international to win the Champions League when Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the 2024 final.
Guler was part of the Real Madrid squad but did not play in the final, remaining on the bench throughout the match.
24 clubs have lifted the trophy
A total of 42 different clubs have reached the Champions League final, while 24 have gone on to win the trophy.
Real Madrid lead with 15 titles, followed by Milan with seven, Liverpool and Bayern Munich with six each, and Barcelona with five.
Ajax have won four titles, while Manchester United and Inter have three each.
PSG, Benfica, Juventus, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Porto have won twice.
Manchester City, Aston Villa, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic, Red Star Belgrade, Feyenoord, Hamburg, Marseille, PSV and Steaua Bucharest have each lifted the trophy once.
The record book highlights the extraordinary depth of Champions League history, with another generation of players and clubs now preparing to add their names to the competition’s long list of milestones.
Source:AA
