The greatest Champions League teams of all time

The Champions League is the pinnacle for a lot of soccer players, as Europe’s top clubs attempt to prove they’re the best by winning the greatest tournament of them all. Europe’s elite competition crowns the season’s ultimate team, but not all title-winning sides are equal.

Some Champions League-winning squads are a cut above the rest, and here are the five greatest teams to have lifted the trophy in the last 30 years.

5. Bayern Munich (2012-13)

Coach Jupp Heynckes led Bayern Munich to the treble in 2012-13, and it was their performances in the latter stages of the Champions League which puts them on this list. Munich qualified from their group containing Valencia, BATE Borisov, and Lille with relative ease – with a shocking 3-1 defeat to Belarusian side BATE Borisov the only blemish on their record.

A dominant performance at the Emirates Stadium set Munich up to beat Arsenal in the Last 16, albeit a nervy few minutes in the return leg as they qualified on away goals following a 3-3 aggregate draw.

But then Bayern rally stepped it up a notch. They were never troubled as they swatted away Juventus 4-0 on aggregate in the quarters, before facing Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in the semi-final. Bayern put on a historic show as they won 4-0 at home and then 3-0 away to send Lionel Messi & Co. crashing out. That set up an all-German final between Munich and rivals Borussia Dortmund, with Arjen Robben bagging the winner in the 89th minute as Bayern came out on top 2-1.

4. Real Madrid (2017-18)

Real Madrid successfully retained the Champions League this season, which is a huge achievement, but even more so when you see their route to the final. Madrid had to go through PSG, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool in the knock-out rounds to win, and did so with incredible attacking flair.

Madrid went behind at home to PSG in the Last 16, but a Ronaldo brace helped them to a 3-1 win, and they followed that up by winning 2-1 in Paris. That man again scored one of the all-time great Champions League overhead kicks in the quarterfinals with Juventus as Madrid won 4-3 on aggregate, with Ronaldo scoring three.

They came from behind yet again in both legs of the semi-final, beating Bayern Munich 2-1 away from home before a 2-2 draw back in Madrid was enough to send them to the final against Liverpool. If Ronaldo’s overhead kick against Juventus was good, Gareth Bale’s might’ve been even better. His acrobatics on the biggest stage of them all helped Real on their way to a 3-1 win and their third Champions League title in a row.

3. Barcelona (2014-15)

This Barcelona side was defined by MSN – Messi, Suarez, and Neymar – as the fearsome trio bagged a combined 27 goals in the competition. It was an unstoppable attacking threat, but Barca didn’t have it easy, proving themselves the very best as they beat the Champions of England, France, Germany, and Italy as they went on to lift the cup.

Barca beat Man City 3-1 on aggregate in the Last 16 with a calm and controlled ease, before Neymar helped take apart PSG in the quarterfinals. The Brazilian opened the scoring in Paris as Barca won the away leg 3-1, before he scored a first half brace in the second leg to put the tie to bed.

Barca had lost 7-0 on aggregate to Bayern Munich two years earlier, but they exacted revenge in the semi-finals here, winning 3-0 at home to set them up for a 5-3 aggregate win. Lionel Messi pulled the strings in the first leg with Bayern, and did the same in the final – a game which would also be Barca legend Xavi’s last appearance for the club. The Spanish side beat Juventus 3-1 in Berlin to complete an unprecedented second continental treble.

2. Barcelona (2008-09)

This was Pep Guardiola’s first year in charge at Barca, and arguably it was one of his very best. As his Barca carer continued, Pep became immersed in the tactical side of his play and dominating the ball, but in his first season in charge it was a free-flowing flair that defined Barca’s Champions League success.

A team that included Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Yaya Toure, Thierry Henry, and Samuel Eto’o, Barcelona were simply a level above Bayern Munich as they ripped the Germans apart 4-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals. It took just 43 minutes for Barca to rack up a four-goal lead and kill the tie.

Guardiola’s side rode their luck in the semi-final as a 93rd minute goal from Iniesta got them into a final, as Chelsea furiously claimed they should have had a last-gasp penalty. But in the final against Manchester United, Barcelona showed their class again and completely dominated Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. Eto’o opened the scoring after just 10 minutes before Messi hung in the air to add a brilliant header in the second half.

Ferguson admitted after the game that Barcelona were a class above, as United managed just two shots on target and couldn’t lay a glove on the Spanish champions.

1. Manchester United (1998-99)

Whether United’s 1999 comeback was the greatest Champions League final comeback is up for debate, but their campaign throughout the competition was simply incredible. Drawn in the group of death, United faced Barcelona and Bayern Munich as well as Danish minnows Brondby. The Red Devils played out four draws with Barca and Munich, including two incredible 3-3 draws with Barcelona in Old Trafford and then Camp Nou.

United hammered Brondby home and away, which was enough to get them into the knock-out phase where they met Inter Milan. A 2-0 win at Old Trafford set United up with a semi-final tie with Juventus. Incredibly a last-minute Ryan Giggs goal in Manchester rescued a 1-1 draw in the first leg, before Juventus took a 2-0 lead in Turin. An epic comeback followed as United turned the game on its head to win 3-2 and set up a final with Bayern Munich in Barcelona.

In the final, Mario Basler gave the German Champions a 1-0 lead after just six minutes, before Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came off the bench to score two goals in the last 180 seconds to secure a historic treble for United and Sir Alex Ferguson.