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Winning the treble is without a doubt one of the most impressive feats in modern football.
Winning a league title is an incredible achievement which shows a team's endurance and consistency. Winning the Champions League or a domestic cup shows the team's mental strength as well as their ability to perform in do-or-die situations. Even winning two out of these three trophies is a phenomenal achievement for any club.
But winning all three of them in a single season is truly a historic achievement in club football and is arguably the most impressive thing a team can do.
The incredible Manchester United side of the 1998-99 season were the first team since the Champions League was reformed in 1992 to win the treble. Since then, only three clubs have gone on to achieve this feat in the 21st century, with two of them managing to do it twice.
Considering their performance and statistics, we rank these five treble winning teams in the 21st century:
#5 Inter Milan (2009-10)
Just over a decade ago, Inter Milan had one of the most historic seasons in Italian football. The Nerazzurri, under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, achieved what no other Italian team had done before. The Serie A giants won Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League, becoming the first and only Italian team so far to achieve the treble.
Mourinho took over the team in 2008 and guided them to the Serie A title in his debut season. That wasn't enough for Inter fans given the club had been dominating Serie A back then but had failed to show any progress in the Champions League.
So the following summer, Mourinho ripped up the squad and set about assembling his own personal troop of soldiers. Luis Figo retired, Adriano, Julio Cruz and Hernan Crespo all left the club, and were quickly replaced by Thiago Motta, Diego Milito and Wesley Sneijder. Even Zlatan Ibrahimovic departed the San Siro in a player-plus cash deal with Barcelona, who sent Samuel Eto'o the other way.
The Portuguese boss built a squad with experience and grit, but it was also laced with star talent and match-winning capabilities. Inter's robust, counter-attacking play, built on a strong defensive shape, took Serie A by storm. They edged out Roma by two points to lift the title for a second consecutive season.
New striker Milito had a fantastic debut season for the club and the Argentine striker went on to bag 22 goals, including some vital strikes in the Champions League.
Inter also defeated Roma in the Coppa Italia final thanks to a goal from Milito, securing an excellent domestic double.
Inter were pitted alongside Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in the group stage of their Champions League campaign. While the Nerazzurri managed to earn a draw at home against the Catalan giants, they were easily beaten in the reverse leg. It was perceived as a wake-up call for their dream of European success.
They did, however, manage to reach the knockout stages, finishing second behind Guardiola's side.
Inter managed to get past Mourinho's former side Chelsea in the last 16 before easing past CSKA Moscow, winning both legs with a solitary goal to nil. It set-up a juicy semi-final tie with Barcelona once again.
It looked like Mourinho had learned from his earlier defeat to Barcelona as the Italian giants managed to earn a 3-1 win at San Siro. The second-leg was one of the most dramatic and memorable moments in Champions League history. Inter managed to concede just one goal at the Camp Nou despite playing with 10 men for well over an hour to earn an aggregate win over Barcelona and reach the final.
Inter ran out 2-0 winners against Bayern Munich in the final thanks to a brace from Milito as the Nerazzurri etched their names into footballing history.
#4 Bayern Munich (2012-13)
Bayern Munich had a disappointing end to the 2011-12 season as the Bavarians finished second in the Bundesliga to Borussia Dortmund and lost the Champions League final against Chelsea.
The subsequent season, however, saw Jupp Heynckes' men rise from the ashes as the Bavarians lost just one game in the Bundesliga to be crowned new champions. They managed to finish the season with 91 points, a staggering 25 points clear of second-placed Dortmund.
The two teams faced each other in the DFB-Pokal final, and goals from Mario Mandzukic and Thomas Muller saw Bayern thwart Dortmund to complete a domestic double.
Both sides crossed paths once again, this time in an all-German UEFA Champions League final in May 2013 at Wembley. Mandzukic once again opened the scoring for Bayern but this time Dortmund managed to find an equalizer through Ikay Gundogan.
However, Dortmund's hearts would be broken in the dying moments of the game. Winger Arjen Robben showcased a brilliant moment of magic to clinch the title for Bayern and complete the first ever treble in the club's history.
#3 Barcelona (2014-15)
After narrowly missing out on La Liga during the 2013-14 season, Barcelona made a host of changes, appointing Luis Enrique as their manager while also signing Luis Suarez from Liverpool.
The Catalans made a brilliant start under Enrique, winning their first home game 3-0 against Elche and went on an eight-game unbeaten run before Real Madrid halted their streak.
Following that, Barcelona lost just three games before the end of the season, clinching the La Liga title. Although they collected 94 points in the season, they managed to win the title by just two points, with Real Madrid hot on their heels till the end.
Just a few days after winning La Liga, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in the Copa del Rey final to complete a memorable league double.
In the Champions League, Barcelona defeated the likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich to set up a final with Juventus in Berlin. And against the Bianconeri, Barcelona played some of their finest football to win the match 3-1 and cap off a record-breaking season.
Their trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr. scored a staggering 122 goals during the season, playing a big part in the second treble in the club's history.
#2 Bayern Munich (2019-20)
Bayern Munich's 2019-20 had begun in underwhelming fashion under Niko Kovac, but after Hansi Flick replaced him mid-season, the Bavarians looked absolutely brilliant.
The former German manager not only steadied the sinking Bavarian ship, but also went on to establish a perfect balance between young and veteran players.
Although Bayern didn't lead the Bundesliga until matchday 20 in early 2020, once they reached there, they never looked back, annihilating everyone in front of them.
Bayern's end to the 2019-20 season was frankly staggering. Their last defeat came in early December against Borussia Monchengladbach. Following the setback, Bayern went on an 29 game unbeaten run, winning an extraordinary 21 games in a row to see out the season.
They managed to clinch the Bundesliga title by 13 points ahead of second-placed Dortmund while also winning the DFB-Pokal by beating Leverkusen in the final.
The Bayern team also became the first side to ever win every single match of their Champions League campaign. The Bavarians scored a staggering 41 goals during the process, including historic victories over Spurs (2-7), Red Star Belgrade (0-6) and Barcelona (2-8).
Although they labored to a 1-0 win in the final against PSG, it was a remarkable European campaign for the Bavarians, who won a second treble in their history. It was also a memorable season for their star forward Robert Lewandowski, who scored 55 goals in all competitions that season and clinched several individual awards.
The club also clinched the UEFA Super Cup, DFL-Supercup and the Club World Cup to become only the second team in history to win the sextuple.
#1 Barcelona (2008-09)
The season that ushered Barcelona into a new era of dominance. The season which brought Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi into the limelight in the footballing world. Barcelona's 2008-09 season is without a doubt the best treble winning season of the 21st century.
After two trophyless seasons with Frank Rijkaard, Barcelona decided to appoint Guardiola as first-team coach in 2008. The Spaniard made some big changes to his squad, even selling the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco who he thought were surplus to requirements.
Barcelona made a losing start to the La Liga campaign, but as the players gathered momentum and began to gel, the team's performances started to improve as well. By the end of the season, the Blaugrana had managed to win 27 of their 38 league games, including the famous 6-2 away win against Real Madrid. They managed to gather 87 points throughout the season, to clinch the La Liga title ahead of Madrid.
And just a few days before their final league game of the season, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the Copa del Rey final. This completed a historic double for the Catalans in Guardiola's first season in charge.
Barcelona navigated through Olympique Lyon, Bayern Munich and a controversial semi-final win over Chelsea to reach the final of the Champions League. Guardiola's men were up for a stern test in the final as Manchester United, who won the Champions League in 2008, were looking to make it two in a row.
However, Barcelona, riding on the back of an excellent season by Lionel Messi, registered a 2-0 win over the Red Devils to complete a historic treble in Rome.
They had become the first Spanish team to win the treble. The Blaugrana also clinched the UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and the Club World Cup to become the first team to win the sextuple.
It was truly the start of a remarkable few years for Barcelona, with their squad at the time considered by many to be the best in football history.
