The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League (UCL) was as entertaining as any previous edition and the teams still alive in the competition are battling it out to reach this summer’s final in Stade de France, France. The competition has reached the semifinal stage and Real Madrid, Manchester City, Villareal, and Liverpool are the final four sides. Manchester City and Liverpool are touted to be top favorites to win the Champions League this season.
- The 2021-22 season is which edition of the Champions League?
This is the 67th season of Europe’s premier club football tournament and the 27th season since it was renamed as the UEFA Champions League.
- How many clubs have won the UEFA Champions League?
A total of 22 clubs have won the Champions League.
- Which are the most successful clubs in the Champions League?
The most successful club in the tournament’s history is Real Madrid who secured their 13th Champions League by defeating Liverpool in the 2018 final. Following them is AC Milan with 7 Champions Leagues and Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool with 6.
- Spanish clubs' distinguishing record:
Clubs from Spain have won the most number of times with 18 wins from its two premier clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Behind them are England with 14 and Italy with 12 titles.
- English clubs' unique record:
England is the country to boast the most number of different clubs to have won the UCL (5).
- An unwanted record for Juventus:
Of the 22 teams to have featured in the Champions League final, only two teams have lost more finals than they have won, those being Benfica and Juventus. Juventus is the club with the most Champions League final defeats at seven.
- Which team and player has appeared the most in the Champions League final?
Real Madrid holds the record for the most Champions League final appearances (16) and Francisco Gento holds the record for the most appearances in the final by a player (8).
- Has the Champions League final ever seen a hat-trick?
Surprisingly, there have been no hat tricks in the Champions League final in its history.
- Clarence Seedorf's distinction:
Clarence Seedorf is the only player to lift the UCL with three clubs, Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007.
- Which managers have won the UCL the most number of times?
Bob Paisley (Liverpool 1977, 1978, 1981) was the first coach to win the trophy three times, a feat only Carlo Ancelotti (Milan 2003, 2007, Real Madrid 2014) and Zinedine Zidane (2016, 2017, 2018) have replicated.
- Francisco Gento: A Serial UCL winner
Francisco Gento is the player with the most Champions League titles having won the UCL a record 6 times with Real Madrid.
- Cristiano Ronaldo and the Champions League: An epic love story
Cristiano Ronaldo has made the Champions League stage his own and holds the record for the most number of goals in the Champions League (140), most hat tricks (8), most goals in a single season (17 in 2013-2014), most hat tricks in a single season(3 in 2015-2016) and the most penalties scored (15).
Moreover he also holds the record for most goals in Champions League knockout stages (67), most UCL appearances (182), most UCL final wins with 5 wins and many more.
- Who has played the most number of UCL matches?
Cristiano Ronaldo has played the maximum number of matches in the Champions League. He has played in 182 matches so far.
- Arsenal's defensive wall in 2006
In 2006, Arsenal produced the best defensive effort in the history of the UEFA Champions League going 10 games without conceding a goal.
- Manchester United: Only five wins yet Champions of Europe
The team to have won the Champions League with the fewest games won is Manchester United (1998–99) with five wins. They also went through the competition unbeaten.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have played 15 times against each other but have never faced each other in the finals.
- Barcelona: The comeback kings
The biggest losing margin a side has overhauled was achieved by Barcelona against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2016/17 last 16, when they lost 4-0 away but progressed thanks to a 6-1 home success. That eclipsed the previous record held by Deportivo La Coruna in the 2003/04 quarter finals, when they went down 4-1 at AC Milan but won 4-0 at home. Roma equalled that margin in last season's quarter finals, turning around a 4-1 first-leg loss at Barcelona with a 3-0 home success.
- Andres Iniesta's exclusive record
Andres Iniesta is the only player ever to win the Man of the Match in a Champions League final, a European Championship final and a World Cup final.
- Neymar's novel feat
Neymar is the first player in history to score a goal in both the quarter final legs, semi-final legs and in the final of the Champions League.
- Have there been back to back hat-tricks in the UCL?
Luiz Adriano of Shakhtar Donetsk is the first player to score back to back hat tricks in the Champions League.
- UEFA Champions League: A global brand
The UEFA Champions League final is the most watched annual sporting event in the world. The final of 2012-13 that featured Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich was aired in more than 200 countries and had the highest TV rating so far with 360 million TV viewers, which included a record 78 million viewers in Germany.
