Has a team won back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles? Record of defending champions as PSG bid for repeat
Plenty of observers predicted a period of dominance for Paris Saint-Germain after their swaggering Champions League triumph in 2024/25.
But defending European club football’s biggest prize is rarely straightforward, as Luis Enrique’s team have found this term. They edged past domestic rivals Monaco 5-4 on aggregate in the knockout playoffs to scrape through to the Round of 16.
At the same time, it’s worth remembering that PSG needed to take the playoff path last season too, before kicking so thrillingly into gear.
A select few clubs across the competition’s illustrious history have dominated the continent across multiple campaigns, establishing themselves as true all-time greats of the game.
The Sporting News details some of the famous clubs across Europe who have enjoyed glory in back-to-back seasons, engorging themselves on the sweet nectar of which many across the world crave just a taste.
MORE: Every fixture, match, result, and matchup across the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League season
How many teams have won back-to-back Champions League titles?
Multiple teams have achieved consecutive UEFA Champions League/European Cup titles in the history of the competition, but only two have done so recently.
The most successful club in European competition history, Real Madrid, won the first five editions of the competition.
The La Liga giants were also the last club to secure back-to-back European titles, winning three in a row from 2014/15 to 2016/17. Prior to that, no club had done so since AC Milan grabbed back-to-back crowns in the late 1980’s.
All other consecutive were won prior to that, with Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Ajax, and Benfica all accomplishing the result at a time when club football power was far more consolidated than it is today.
| Club | Country | First | Last | Consecutive Titles |
| Real Madrid | Spain | 1955/56 | 1959/60 | 5 |
| Benfica | Portugal | 1960/61 | 1961/62 | 2 |
| Inter Milan | Italy | 1963/64 | 1964/64 | 2 |
| Ajax | Netherlands | 1970/71 | 1972/73 | 3 |
| Bayern Munich | Germany | 1973/74 | 1975/76 | 3 |
| Liverpool | England | 1976/77 | 1977/78 | 2 |
| Nottingham Forest | England | 1978/79 | 1979/80 | 2 |
| AC Milan | Italy | 1988/89 | 1989/90 | 2 |
| Real Madrid | Spain | 2015/16 | 2017/18 | 3 |
Who has won the most Champions League titles?
Spanish giants Real Madrid are the most successful club in the history of the UEFA Champions League, winning 15 titles, more than double any other team across the life of the competition.
Only five clubs have won at least five Champions League titles, with AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Barcelona in rarefied air.
By lifting their first European title in 2024/25, PSG became the 24th club to win the Champions League, dating back to its first competition in 1955/56 when it was known as the European Cup.
| Club | Country | Titles | Runners-Up | Years won |
| Real Madrid | Spain | 15 | 3 | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024 |
| AC Milan | Italy | 7 | 4 | 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 |
| Bayern Munich | Germany | 6 | 5 | 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, 2020 |
| Liverpool | England | 6 | 4 | 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019 |
| Barcelona | Spain | 5 | 3 | 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015 |
| Ajax | Netherlands | 4 | 2 | 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995 |
| Inter Milan | Italy | 3 | 4 | 1964, 1965, 2010 |
| Man United | England | 3 | 2 | 1968, 1999, 2008 |
| Multiple | 2 | Benfica, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Porto | ||
| Multiple | 1 | PSG, Man City, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille, Red Star Belgrade, PSV Eindhoven, Steaua Bucuresti, Hamburg, Aston Villa, Feyenoord, Celtic |
