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The 21st century has been an eventful one in football, with hitherto unrenowned clubs rising to global prominence, while others who were giants of the past fell off the mainstream map into relative obscurity or mediocrity.
New rules have redefined the way we watch the beautiful game, tactics evolved to completely alter previously established formations, leading to a rise in the use of lone strikers and inverted wingers and two men have dominated the game more than any other pair in the history of the sport.
The rise in the use of social media and advancement in technologies have brought have fans closer than ever to their favorite clubs and made the game even more global.
Increased financial prosperity massively changed the transfer market and helped a handful clubs consolidate their superiority over others and this manifested in their near-total dominance of the various domestic leagues and continental competitions.
As in any other era, some clubs have been more successful than others and with the third decade of the 21st century about to begin, we shall be taking a look at the five best teams of the 21st century using parameters like trophies won, quality of players, historical milestones achieved, and overall success enjoyed so far in the century.
Honorable mentions: Juventus, PSG, Manchester City, Inter Milan
#5 Chelsea (England)
It was a very difficult decision to put Chelsea on this list at the expense of Juventus but the fact that the Bianconerri are yet to win a continental trophy in this century robs some sheen off their accomplishments in Serie A.
Chelsea began the 21st century much like they had in their previous years - as one of the also-rans in England, - and you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who would have predicted the success that was to follow for the Londoners.
It all began when the club was taken over by Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovic in July 2003 for the sum of £140m.
A year later, the club made its best showing in the Champions League to that point, narrowly falling to AS Monaco in the semifinal of the Champions League.
In the immediate aftermath of their Champions League ouster, Abramovic broke the bank to sign the Champions League-winning manager Jose Mourinho and the Portuguese gaffer was just in time to win the club its first league title after exactly five decades in 2005 which was also coincidentally Chelsea's centenary year.
Mourinho's tactical nous coupled with Abramovic's unlimited spending transformed Chelsea into a superpower virtually overnight and the club disrupted the footballing hierarchy in England, knocking Manchester United and Arsenal from their previously hallowed perch.
World-beaters like John Obi Mikel, Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack, John Terry, and Frank Lampard represented the Londoners with distinction and multiple trophies were won in what was undoubtedly the club's golden era.
After many seasons of near-misses and heartbreaks, an unlikely Champions League trophy was finally won in 2012, making Chelsea the first London club to win Europe's premier club competition, while the Europa League was added a season later to add the club to a hallowed list of five to have won all three of UEFA's major club competitions.
So far, The Blues have won 18 major trophies in this century, with Jose Mourinho contributing to eight of those and while the days of extravagant spending on proven stars seem to be over, young academy graduates are leading the march into the new era.
Also check out: La liga table 2019-20 Champions League table Premier League Table
#4 Manchester United (England)
Given their recent travails, at first glance, it might seem a tad suspicious to name Manchester United as one of the best five clubs of the 21st century.
However, it must be noted that there have been 19 years so far in the 21st century and for 13 of those, the Red Devils were nothing short of brilliant and their woeful displays in the last five years cannot erase their brilliance from previous ones.
Manchester United entered the 21st century firmly established as the premier club in England and they ended the previous century in perfect fashion by becoming the first English side to win a continental treble in 1999 and they continued in that vein into the early noughties.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson's management, seasoned campaigners like Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, and Rio Ferdinand held sway in the land, while youngsters like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney blossomed into global popularity.
The last 13 years of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United tenure brought 18 trophies including a three-peat in the Premier League between 2007 and 2009 as well as a third Champions League trophy in 2008.
In the intervening six years since he departed, the club has won five trophies, including a maiden Europa League in 2016.
#3 Bayern Munich (Germany)
Bayern Munich have always enjoyed success, from the golden years of Franz Beckenbaeur, Sepp Maeir, Uli Hoeness, and Gerd Muller in the 1970s to the 'Hollywood Bayern' period of the 1990s.
They ended the 20th century by losing the 1999 Champions League final in heartbreaking circumstances after leading for most of the match only to fall to two injury time goals to Manchester United.
The Bavarians, however, bounced back excellently two years later and defeated Valencia on penalties to win their fourth Champions League title.
The 21st century has been really favorable for the club, with Bayern Munich flexing their domestic power more than at any other time in history.
They have won a total of 14 Bundesliga titles, including the last seven consecutively and nine DFB Pokals, with each of their Cup wins coming in 'double-winning' campaigns.
Their charge for most of the 21st century was led by the wing wizards Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery, affectionately termed 'Robbery', while players like Robert Lewandowski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, and Javi Martinez have all helped consolidate their strength domestically.
Bayern Munich suffered heartbreak when they fell to Chelsea in the final of the Champions League in their own backyard in 2012 but just a year later, the finest hour in the club's history was achieved as they won a continental treble for the first time ever.
#2 Real Madrid (Spain)
Real Madrid were named the club of the 20th century by FIFA in the year 2000 and they have gone some way to retaining that title in the 21st century.
The century was begun in excellent circumstances as they defeated Valencia in Saint-Denis, France to win their eighth Champions League title and although their domestic form was not great, they again won the Champions League two years later in 2002 in what was their centenary year.
This period was marked by heavy spending by club president Florentino Perez who embarked on a mission to bring a world-class player into the club every year.
This campaign saw players like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Robinho, and Michael Owen join already established players like Raul Gonzalez, Iker Casillas, and Roberto Carlos but despite their firepower, Real Madrid found success difficult to come by on the field and went trophyless between 2004 and 2007.
After the disbandment of the first 'galactico' era, a second one was begun in 2009 led by Cristiano Ronaldo and after initial setbacks, the long-awaited 'La Decima' was finally won in 2014.
This kickstarted an era of dominance by Real Madrid on the continent unprecedented in the modern era and the club became the first side to successfully defend the revamped Champions League trophy in 2017 and went one further by making it three in a row in 2018.
In addition to the aforementioned stars of the distant past, new superstars like Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric have helped the club maintain their status at the pinnacle of world football.
#1 Barcelona (Spain)
Real Madrid's unprecedented feat of winning three Champions League titles consecutively set them up perfectly to be the team of the 21st century so far, so what exactly have Barcelona done to displace them at the top?
Take your pick from the club becoming the first to win six trophies in a year in 2009, becoming the first to win two continental trebles in 2015, usurping Real Madrid as the dominant force in LaLiga, and becoming arguably the best club team in history.
The fact that they achieved all this while playing an aesthetically pleasing brand of possession-based football only makes their feats all the more romantic.
The Blaugrana ended the 20th century in disappointing fashion and begun the first four years of the new century trophyless but Ronaldinho's arrival at the club helped lay the foundation for what was to come and the club won consecutive league titles in 2005 and 2006 in addition to the Champions League in the latter year.
Pep Guardiola's appointment in 2008 saw Barcelona reach previously unimaginable heights and their charge was led by arguably the best player in history, Lionel Messi, augmented by other La Masia graduates like Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets as well as expensive imports like Luis Suarez, Neymar, and Dani Alves.
So far this century, Barcelona have won a whopping 34 major trophies, which is more than anyone else has managed in mainstream Europe, with triumphs recorded in LaLiga (10), Copa del Rey (6), Champions League (4), FIFA Club World Cup (3), UEFA Super Cup (3), and Spanish Super Cup (8).
