'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
For all the inherent beauty of football, titles remain the true measure of success.
Managers devise tactics to outsmart the opposition and win games, with or without the aesthetic aspect. That makes sense, as it is winning that matters at the end of the day and not how well a team played. If a team wins by playing beautiful football, that's always a welcome bonus.
With the growing commercialisation of the game, managers are expected to hit the ground running and deliver silverware. On that note, let's have a look at the ten most successful teams since the turn of the century.
#10 Auckland City FC (New Zealand) - 33 trophies
Auckland City FC are one of the newest teams to make this list.
Founded in 2004, Auckland City have already won a staggering eight titles in the ASB Premiership, the top tier of New Zealand football.
The Navy Blues are nine-time winners of the OFC Champions League. They have also won five ASB Charity Cups and as many National Youth League titles among other domestic and continental honours.
Auckland City FC have a cumulative roster value of €4.35 million, with 32-year-old forward Emiliano Tado (€450,000) being their most valuable player.
#9 Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) - 33 trophies
Founded in 1997, Sheriff Tiraspol are a young football club. However, they have already achieved a lot of success during their two-and-a-half decades of existence.
The record Moldovan champions have won all 18 league titles this century while also triumphing nine times in the Moldovan Cup.
Sheriff Tiraspol have a team valuation of €9.08 million. 30-year-old centre-back and captain Veaceslav Posmac (€700,000) is their most valuable player.
#8 Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) - 33 trophies
Founded in 1945 after the disbandment of its predecessor HSK Gradanski, Dinamo Zagreb are record 21-time Croatian First League winners.
A former winner of the Yugoslav First League (before the breakup of Yugoslavia), Dinamo Zagreb have won 16 league titles since the turn of the century. The Modri have also triumphed eleven times in the Croatia Cup.
They have a total roster value of €103.35 million, with 19-year-old centre-back Josko Gvardiol (€16 million) being their most valuable player.
Dinamo Zagreb made the Europa League Round of 16 in 2018-19 for their best showing in continental competitions. However, this season, they conceded only one goal in the group stage of the competition and look poised for a deep run.
#7 Celtic (Scotland) - 33 trophies
With a history dating back to the 19th century, Celtic are one of the most successful clubs in the history of the game.
The 51-time Scottish champions have been the team to beat in Scotland since the turn of the century, racking up 15 league titles, the last nine coming on the trot.
Last season, the Hoops won a staggering seventh domestic treble, their fourth on the trot (quadruple treble) and fifth this century.
The 1966-67 European Cup winners have a squad valued at €99.7 million, with 23-year-old forward Odsonne Edouard (€15 million) their most valuable player.
#6 Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) - 33 trophies
Former Soviet League champions Shakhtar Donetsk are 13-time Ukrainian League winners (all titles won this century), with only their arch-rivals Dynamo Kyiv (15) winning more league titles.
The Miners have also lifted 11 Ukrainian Cups and eight Ukrainian Super Cups since the turn of the century.
The 2008-09 Europa League winners have one of the youngest rosters in the game. In the Champions League this season, Shakhtar Donetsk fielded consecutive line-ups featuring as many as seven players aged 21 or under.
Shakhtar Donetsk have a cumulative squad value of €158.7 million, with 21-year-old winger Tete (€20 million) being their most valuable player.
#5 Porto (Portugal) - 33 trophies
Porto have been the most dominant Portuguese team since the turn of the century, winning 11 league titles to swell their trophy count to 29.
The Dragons have also won eight Taca de Portugal and 11 Supertaca Candidod de Oliveira honours in the 21st century.
In the Champions League this season, the Dragons earned their first-ever competitive win over Italian giants Juventus, beating the Bianconeri 2-1 in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash.
Porto have a total squad value of €262 million, and 28-year-old midfielder Jesus Corona (€30 million) is their most valuable player.
#4 Barcelona (Spain) - 34 trophies
Barcelona are one of the biggest teams in European club football.
The first team to win multiple continental trebles, the Blaugrana have won ten La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies since the turn of the century.
Buoyed by the singular brilliance of Lionel Messi, Barcelona arguably enjoyed the most prolific spell in their history under Pep Guardiola's tutelage between 2008 and 2011. The Catalan giants won a staggering six titles in a year amidst a plethora of domestic and continental honours during this period.
Despite captain Messi leading from the front, Barcelona endured their first trophyless campaign in more than a decade last season. They haven't fared better under new manager Ronald Koeman this season, slumping to consecutive three-goal reverses in Europe and lying eight points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona (€806 million) have one of the most expensively assembled rosters in world football. Lionel Messi and teenager Ansu Fati (€80 million apiece) are their two most valuable players.
#3 Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) - 40 trophies
Lincoln Red Imps are the record 14-time consecutive winners of the Gibraltar Football League, the most consecutive title triumphs by any club in Europe.
The Red Imps, founded in 1976, won the Gibraltar League title each year from 2013 to 2016, winning the competition a record 24 times.
Apart from their 17 league triumphs since the turn of the century, the Red Imps have also won 11 Rock Cup and as many Pepe Reyes Cup.
They have a cumulative squad value of €825,000, with 35-year-old right-back Scot Wiseman (€200,000) being their most valuable player.
#2 Bayern Munich (Germany) - 40 trophies
It is perhaps no surprise to see serial winners Bayern Munich high up in this list.
The Bavarian giants emulated Barcelona last season to become the only team to win multiple continental trebles, having previously achieved the coveted feat in 2012-13.
Bayern Munich have won 15 Bundesliga titles since the turn of the century, with the last eight coming in as many seasons. With a two-point lead atop the league table, the Bavarian giants look good for nine league triumphs on the trot.
Bayern's other major domestic and continental honours this century includes three Champions League wins, 11 DFB Pokal triumphs, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups.
Bayern Munich boast a star-studded roster that has a cumulative value of €829 million, with 26-year-old defensive midfielder Joshua Kimmich (€90 million) being their most valuable player.
Goal machine Robert Lewandowski (€60 million) is only the fifth-most valuable player in the team.
#1 Al Ahly Cairo (Egypt) - 41 trophies
With 41 trophies since the turn of the millennium, Egypt's Al Ahly are the most successful club in the 21st century.
The record 42-time Egyptian champions have won 14 league titles, six Egypt Cups, 11 Egyptian Super Cups and seven CAF Champions League honours since 2000.
Al Ahly beat Palmeiras to win the bronze in the Club World Cup after losing to eventual champions Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.
Al Ahly have a total squad value of €25.5 million, with 32-year-old goalkeeper and captain Mohamed El Shenawy (€2.5 million) being the most valuable player in their roster.
