Is Real Madrid the ultimate Champions League club?

Nothing symbolises trophies like Real Madrid and the Champions League. In 1955-56, Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabeu introduced a new competition for Europe’s top football teams. The Spanish giants have won it a record 15 times, most recently in 2023-24. The closest rivals are AC Milan with seven.

What does it take to rule European football?

Former Germany midfielder Sami Khedira, who helped Madrid win La Decima, its 10th Champions League championship, in 2013-14, thinks new players are expected to produce.

“You have to bring something back to the shirt – you have to win,” he argues in a new BBC documentary, How to Win the Champions League: Real Madrid.

Madrid has won other games in previous seasons through magnetism, like as last season’s quarter-final second leg against holders Manchester City, which lost 4-3 on penalties.

Paul Clement, Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant manager when the club won its first of three Champions League titles in 2013-14, believes Bernabeu Stadium fans “suck the ball into the goal”.