The UEFA Champions League (UCL) has been the most coveted club competition in the whole world for many years now . But how did it come into being ? Well , the UEFA document of the European Cup confirms that Jacques Ferran and Gabriel Hanot , journalists for the famous French sports newspaper L’Equipe , were the founding fathers of the Champions League . In the UEFA Congress of 1955 , the proposal was raised , with the approval given in April of that same year , and the kick-off of the first European Cup in the following season with Spanish giants Real Madrid C.F emerging as the first winners of the tournament . A star-studded lineup with Alfredo Di Steffano at the helm , this Real Madrid side went on to win the first five European Cups from the year 1955-60 .We have witnessed a total of 22 different teams winning the UCL over it’s span of sixty-six years . They are the record holders of the most UCL titles won till date , with thirteen to their name , adding their thirteenth title in the year 2018 winning against Liverpool 3-1 at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv , Ukraine , after completing a three-peat under their manager Zinedine Zidane . Second on the list are the Italian giants , AC Milan winning seven Champions League titles with their last triumph in the year 2007 against Liverpool by 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens , Greece under manager Carlo Ancelotti . Milan have made it to the group stages of the Champions League this year after missing out on seven previous occasions , but are on the verge of getting knocked out of the tournament after their poor display in their initial matches . Third on the list are the German Champions Bayern Munich and English giants Liverpool with a joint number of six titles to their name , adding the last feather to their belt in 2020 after defeating Paris Saint Germain 1-0 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon , Portugal under their manager Hansi Flick and becoming the second only team after FC Barcelona to win two trebles [ Treble denotes that the team has won it’s domestic league , the domestic cup and the champions league in a single season ] , whereas Liverpool won their last title in 2019 after defeating Tottenham Hotspurs 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid , Spain. The Catalan kings FC Barcelona come next on the list with five titles , who won their last title in the year 2015 , after defeating Juventus 3-1 at the Olympiastadion Stadium in Berlin , Germany under their manager Luis Enrique and becoming the first team to win the treble twice in the history of football .

Next on the list is the Dutch powerhouse Ajax with four titles to their name , with their last title in the year 1995 winning by a narrow margin of 1-0 against AC Milan , they came really close to making it big in the 2019 season with their golden generation , but lost out to Tottenham Hotspurs on aggregate in the semifinals (3-3) . With three titles each to their name , Manchester United from England and Internazionale from Italy are next on this list , with United’s last triumph coming in an all English final against their rivals Chelsea in the year 2008 , which they won in a penalty shootout after the match had ended in a score of 1-1 at extra time , whereas Inter won their last title in the year 2010 after defeating the German giants Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid and becoming the third ever team to win the treble .

Quite a number of teams have won the tournament twice with the latest champions being the London based Chelsea F.C who won their second title after defeating Manchester City 1-0 on 29th May , 2021 at the Estadio do Dragao , Portugal in yet another all English final , the only goal being scored by the German Kai Havertz . Another team with two titles to their name are the Italian giants Juventus , who secured their last title in the year 1996 after defeating Ajax in a penalty shootout after the match had ended 1-1 at extra time , they’ve come close on numerous occasions to win the title , but have somehow managed to fail every time , with their latest outing in the 2017 final against Real Madrid which they lost by 4-1 . Next on the list is the Portuguese club Benfica who’ve also won two titles , with their last title almost sixty years ago in the year 1962 when they defeated a solid Real Madrid side in an entertaining final by 5-3 when Portuguese legend Eusebio used to be the main pillar of this team . The last two on this list are the Portuguese side Porto and a surprising entry from England , Nottingham Forest . Porto registered their last title in the year 2003 after defeating French side AS Monaco by 3-0 after fighting against all odds under their then manager Jose Mourinho , they had reached the quarter finals of the tournament this year but fell short in front of the eventual champions , Chelsea . Lastly , there is the English side Nottingham Forest , who , fighting against all odds , won the tournament consecutively in the seasons 1978-79 and 79-80 after defeating the Swedish side Malmo FF and the German side Hamburg by 1-0 respectively

With one title to their name , these are the sides leading the charts - the Scottish champions Celtic who won it in the year 1967 after defeating Inter by 2-1 , next is the German side Hamburg who won it in the year 1983 after defeating Italian giants Juventus by 1-0 . Next is an absolute shocker , the Romenian side Steaua Bucuresti defeated FC Barcelona in a penalty shootout to clinch their maiden title . French side Marseille still remains the only club to have won the tournament from France , after defeating AC Milan by 1-0 [ the year when the European Cup was renamed as the Champions League ] . The Dutch reign in the UCL had begun with Feynoord in the year 1970 when the team defeated the Scottish side Celtic 2-1 in the added extra time to win their only title till date . During the English dominance in the 80s , Aston Villa didn’t fail to capitalize on the opportunity as they won their only title in the year 1982 after defeating Bayern Munich 1-0 . Next is the Dutch side PSV Eindhoven who won the tournament in the late 80s , in 1988 , after defeating their Portuguese rivals Benfica in the finals after a penalty shootout . Serbian side Red Star Belgrade rose to the occasion in the year 1991 , and clinched their first title after defeating the French side Marseille in a penalty shootout . To end with , we have the famous German side Borussia Dortmund who won their only title in the year after defeating Juventus convincingly 3-1 . Their dreams to win another title came to an end when Arjen Robben , playing for Bayern Munchen then , scored an 89th minute winner in the final of 2013 .