Image showing a UEFA Champions League winners' medal.
Credit: X/@ChampionsLeague
Paris Saint-Germain, chasing the dream of their first UEFA Champions League trophy, face off against a formidable Inter Milan on Saturday night in what promises to be a thrilling match that caps off the current club football season.
European football—in terms of a continental tournament—has been a staple of club football seasons since 1955, when it was known as the European Champion Clubs' Club or simply as the European Cup.
Initially a straight knockout tournament, the European Cup took on a more modern form in the 1990s, when it was rebranded as a the UEFA Champions League, with a fresh format that also allowed for multiple entrants from certain countries.
Known since then as the Champions League or the UCL, European football has, historically, provided some of the finest matches that football has had to offer, showing time and again why the beautiful game is beautiful.
As PSG and Inter gear up to add to the storeyed history of the marquee tournament, we take a look at past winners of the UEFA Champions League.
1992/93
Ligue 1 side Marseille claimed the coveted Champions League trophy in the first year after its rebrand, beating AC Milan 1-0 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany.
1993/94:
Veterans of European football, AC Milan made up for their loss to Marseille in 1993/94, defeating Barcelona by a whopping 4 goals to nil at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.
1994/95:
The 1994/95 Champions League final also featured AC Milan, but this time, the Italian giants failed to defend their title and fell to Netherlands' Ajax Amsterdam.
1995/96:
While AC Milan failed to make it to the final in 1995/96, another Italian giant—Juventus—climbed to the final, defeating last season's champions Ajax 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy.
1996/97:
In 1996/97, the UCL final again returned to Munich, where Borussia Dortmund put their stamp on Europe, beating champions Juventus by an impressive 3-1 scoreline.
1997/98:
Juventus climbed to the final yet again, but this time, fell to European masters Real Madrid, who sealed yet another title with a 1-0 win at the Amsterdam Arena in the Netherlands.
1998/99:
The first finalist from England since the creation of the UCL, Manchester United did its host nation proud, defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.
1999/2000:
Not one to let a chance of European glory slide, Real Madrid returned with a vengeance to the UCL stage in 1999/2000, defeating domestic rivals Valencia in a decisive 3-0 win at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
2000/01:
At the turn of the millennium, Bayern Munich sealed their fourth European trophy against last season's finalists Valencia, beating the Spanish side on penalties at the San Siro in Milan after a 1-1 draw.
2001/02:
Real Madrid returned to the spotlight again in the 2001/02 season, beating German opposition Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-1 victory at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland.
2002/03:
Having been out of the picture for a few seasons, AC Milan returned to the limelight in 2002/03 in an all Italian final that saw them defeat domestic rivals Juventus on penalties after a 0-0 draw. The match took place at Old Trafford in England's Manchester.
2003/04:
The 2003/04 UCL final saw the Jose Mourinho-coached Porto beat French opposition Monaco 3-0 at the Arena AufSchalke in Germany's Gelsenkirchen. The final win would mark the beginning of a series of successes for Jose Mourinho.
2004/05:
The 2004/05 final saw once-greats Liverpool taking on a world-class AC Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul. While everyone had expected an AC Milan win (the Italians were on their way too, with a 3-0 lead at half-time), Liverpool turned the match rather miraculously and beat the Italian giants on penalties after a remarkable comeback. The match would go on to be known as the Miracle of Istanbul.
2005/06:
The following year, another English team—Arsenal—made it to the UCL final, but fell to a 2-1 loss against Barcelona at the Stade de France.
2006/07:
The 2006/07 season saw a re-run of the 2004/05 final, with AC Milan taking on Liverpool yet again. This time, however, the Italians made sure that the Merseysiders would have no reason to celebrate: Milan won the match 2-1, sealing yet another European trophy at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
2007/08:
Manchester United, led by Sir Alex Ferguson and graced by a young and upcoming Cristiano Ronaldo, faced off against domestic rivals Chelsea. Despite a miss from Ronaldo in the penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw, a slip by John Terry saw the Mancunians take the trophy at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
2008/09:
Manchester United reached a second consecutive final in 2008/09 but were bested 2-0 by Barcelona, with a young Lionel Messi putting himself of the scoresheet with a rare, headed goal at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. While Barcelona took home the trophy, the match would become one of the first instances of the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry that would burn bright for over a decade.
2009/10:
The 2009/10 season saw relatively fresh faces, with Inter Milan and Bayern Munich returning to the biggest stage of European football. The Italians, coached by the mercurial Mourinho, got the better of Germans, beating the German champions 2-0 to lift the trophy.
2010/11:
With Messi already a behemoth of a footballer, it perhaps came as little surprise as Barcelona bested Manchester United 3-1 to claim the 2010/11 UCL title at the Wembley Stadium in London.
2011/12:
The following season saw an English-German clash as Chelsea faced a dominant Bayern Munich. While most had put their money on the Germans, Chelsea proved doubters wrong by first drawing the game 1-1 and then going on to win on penalties.
2012/13:
Bayern Munich came back to the UCL with a vengeance in 2012-13, defeating a Jurgen Klopp-led Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to claim yet another European trophy. The match took place at the Wembley Stadium in London.
2013/14:
After missing the final for a few seasons, Real Madrid returned to the UCL final in 2013/14, facing off against arch-rivals Atletico Madrid. Real, however, gave their opponents no chance and demolished Atletico 4-1 to remind the world of their status as European football royalty. The win, at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, saw Real Madrid secure a record 10th title.
2014/15:
The 2014/15 season saw Madrid's domestic rivals Barcelona reach the final, with the Spaniards beating Juventus decisively in a 3-1 victory at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
2015/16:
Real Madrid returned to the UCL final again in the 2015/16 season. beating Atletico Madrid again, albeit on penalties, at the San Siro in Milan. This would become Madrid's 11th European title.
2016/17:
Los Blancos continued to dominate the European stage, defeating Italian finalists Juventus by a whopping 4 goals to 1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and sealing their 12th European title.
2017/18:
The following season would be Real Madrid's as well, with the Spaniards beating a formidable Liverpool side coached by Jurgen Klopp by 3 goals to one. The match took place at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv.
2018/19:
Liverpool, however, came back the following season to defeat domestic rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. The win marked Liverpool's sixth European triumph.
2019/20:
The 2019/20 UCL final was a central European clash, with Bayern Munich facing off against title aspirants Paris Saint-Germain at the Estadio da Luz in Portugal. PSG, however, would have to wait for their maiden UCL trophy as Bayern sealed the match 1-0.
2020/21:
The 2020/21 season saw Chelsea defeat a dominant Manchester City in rather unexpected fashion: after a rough domestic season that saw the London club's manager sacked, interim manager Roberto Di Matteo pulled off what seemed impossible, defeating the Pep Guardiola-led City 1-0 in a tactical thriller.
2021/22:
Liverpool came to the Stade de France for the 2021/22 final in the hopes of exacting revenge over Madrid for the 2017/18 loss. Los Blancos, however, had the last laugh, beating Liverpool 1-0 as Thibaut Courtois pulled off a masterclass in goal.
2022/23:
After several disappointments, Pep Guardiola's long, long wait for a UCL title with Manchester City came to an end in 2022-23 as the Cityzens beat Inter Milan 1-0 to secure the title at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.
2023/24:
Last season's final saw unlikely finalists Borussia Dortmund face off against European royalty Real Madrid, and Los Blancos comfortably sealed a 2-0 win to bring home their record-extending 15th title.