The 10 Best Football Clubs of All Time

Club football has been around for generations. And choosing the top ten football clubs of all time, it’s really a challenge as some clubs were so good at one time compared to some new ones that are now. It is challenging to rank all of these fantastic clubs among the top football clubs in the world.

These football teams have earned the title of “giants” of the game. They have earned this moniker because they have won several titles in their home nation or around Europe. I’ll give you a list of the best football clubs of all time.

People all over the world adore football, which is the most popular sport. Numerous factors influence which clubs we should keep and which we should sell. People pay attention to it and evaluate various players and teams based on how they perform.

Many elements, including social media, contribute to football teams being listed in the top ten. The amount of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter followers. These clubs are well-known due to their sponsorships. These clubs have grown in popularity thanks to generous sponsorship.

1. Real Madrid F.C.

Real Madrid F.C.
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
La Liga (Spanish Club Championship)35
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)15
Copa Del Rey (Domestic Title)19
UEFA Super Cup5
Supercopa Espana12
FIFA Club World Cup4
Intercontinental Cup3
Honorable Mention* (FIFA Club of the Century Trophy)1

Real Madrid Club de Futbol is a Madrid-based Spanish professional association football club. Madrid Football Club was founded in 1902 and played its first competitive match on 13 May 1902, when it reached the semi-finals of the Campeonato de Copa de S.M. Alfonso XIII.

Real Madrid now competes in Spain’s top-tier La Liga, having joined the league as one of its original members in 1929, and is one of three teams, along with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, to have never been relegated from the league. Except for the 1977-78 and 1996-97 seasons, they have also been active in European football since being the first Spanish team to join the European Cup in 1955.

Real Madrid’s trophy cabinet is galore of silverware. They have won everything an incredible amount of times too. So it’s pretty safe to say it is the best football club of all time.

  • The club now holds the record for most European Cup / UEFA Champions League victories (14).
  • The most La Liga titles (35).
  • Real has also won the Copa del Rey 19 times.
  • Supercopa de Espana 12 times.
  • Copa de la Liga once.
  • Copa Eva Duarte once.
  • UEFA Cup twice.
  • European/UEFA Super Cup five times.
  • Intercontinental Cup three times.
  • FIFA Club World Cup four times.

Real Madrid has the distinction of being the most successful club in terms of international titles, having accumulated 28 pieces of silverware, more than any other team in the world, thanks to its fourteen European Cups. On the domestic front, it is second only to Barcelona with 68 championships. 

This list includes Real Madrid’s major awards as well as records made by the club, its managers, and its players. The player records section covers information on the club’s top scorers and those who have made the most first-team appearances. It also includes important international successes by Real Madrid players, as well as the largest transfer prices paid and received by the club.

2. F.C. Barcelona

F.C. Barcelona
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
La Liga (Spanish Club Championship)26
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)5
Copa Del Rey (Domestic Title)31
UEFA Super Cup5
Supercopa Espana13
FIFA Club World Cup3

Futbol Club Barcelona is a Spanish professional football club headquartered in Barcelona, Catalonia. The club, which was founded by a group of Swiss, German, English, and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, thus the motto “Més que un club” (More than a club). The “Cant del Barça,” penned by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs, is the official Barça song.

Unlike many other football teams, Barcelona is owned and operated by its members and fans, known as social.

Since its inception, Barcelona has earned a number of records in regional, local, and continental events. From the beginning of regional contests until the termination of the Catalan championship in 1940, the club earned a record 23 trophies out of a possible 38. Undoubtedly its one of the best football clubs of all time.

  • Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League, the Supercopa de Espana, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup, all in the same calendar year in 2009.
  • Furthermore, Barça won the desired continental triple, comprising of La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, in 2009 and again in 2015, becoming the first European team to do so.
  • The club is also one of the most successful in international club football, having won a total of 22 recognized trophies.
  • 14 of which are UEFA tournaments and 8 of which are FIFA championships.
  • Barcelona has won five UEFA Champions League championships.
  • Four UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup titles.
  • Five UEFA Super Cup titles.
  • Three FIFA Club World Cup titles.

3. Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United F.C.
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Premier League (English Club Championship)20
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)3
FA Cup (Domestic Title)12
UEFA Super Cup1
Community Shield21
FIFA Club World Cup1

Manchester United Football Club, sometimes known as Man United, Man Utd, or simply United, is an English professional football club headquartered in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. The club plays in the Premier League, the highest level in the English football league system. It was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club but changed its name to Manchester United in 1902. In 1910, the team relocated from Newton Heath to its current stadium, Old Trafford. In Europe and in the United Kingdom, it has to be one of the best football clubs of all time.

  • Manchester United has won a record 20 League crowns.
  • 12 FA Cups, five League Cups.
  • A record 21 FA Community Shields
  • They have won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League three times, as well as the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup once each.

Manchester United is one of the world’s most popular football clubs, featuring rivalries with Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Leeds United. Manchester United was the world’s highest-earning football club in 2016-17, with an annual income of €676.3 million, and the world’s third most valuable football club in 2019, with a valuation of £3.15 billion ($3.81 Billion).

After being listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1991, the club was taken private in 2005 following a transaction valued at about £800 million by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer, with over £500 million of borrowed money becoming the club’s debt.

4. Bayern Munich F.C.

Bayern Munich F.C.
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Bundesliga (German Club Championship)32
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)6
DFB Pokal (Domestic Title)20
DFL-Supercup10
UEFA Europa League1
Intercontinental Cup2
FIFA Club World Cup2

Fußball-Club Bayern München is a German professional sports club headquartered in Munich, Bavaria. It is commonly known as FC Bayern, Bayern Munich, or just Bayern. It is most known for its professional men’s football team, which competes in the Bundesliga, Germany’s highest tier of football leagues.

Bayern Munich is the most successful club in German football history, having won a record 32 national titles, including 10 in a row since 2013, as well as 20 national cups and several European trophies. In Germany and in Europe, it’s arguably the best club if not the best football club of all time.

  • The club experienced its most successful phase in the mid-1970s.
  • It won the European Cup three times in a row under the guidance of Franz Beckenbauer (1974–1976).
  • Bayern has won six European Cup/UEFA Champions League trophies in total (a German record), with their sixth victory coming in 2020 final as part of the Treble, making them just the second European club to do it twice.
  • Bayern also has one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups to their name.

Bayern has played its home games at the Allianz Arena since the start of the 2005-06 season. For the previous 33 years, the team had played at Munich’s Olympiastadion. The team colors are red and white, while the crest depicts the Bavarian flag in white and blue.

With a valuation of €634.1 Million in 2021, Bayern Munich is the largest sports club in Germany and the third highest-earning football club in the world, after only FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Bayern had 293,000 official members in November 2019 and 4,499 legally registered fan clubs with over 350,000 members.

5. Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool F.C.
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Premier League (English Club Championship)19
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)6
FA Cup (Domestic Title)8
UEFA Super Cup4
Community Shield16
FIFA Club World Cup1

If we talk about English football. Liverpool should be at the top list of the best football clubs of all time. Liverpool Football Club is an English professional football club headquartered in Liverpool. The club plays in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1892, entered the Football League the following year, and has played its home games at Anfield since its inception.

Liverpool is one of the world’s most valued and well-supported clubs. Manchester United and Everton are long-standing rivals of the club. Under Shankly’s direction, the team switched from red jerseys and white shorts to an all-red home strip in 1964, which has been worn ever since. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is the club’s anthem.

  • Domestically, the team has 19 League championships.
  • Eight FA Cups.
  • A record nine League Cups.
  • 16 FA Community Shields to its name.
  • The club has won six European Cups.
  • four UEFA Super Cups (all English records).
  • One FIFA Club World Cup in international tournaments.

Liverpool’s home colors have been pure red for most of its history. When the club was created in 1892, it used blue and white quartered jerseys until it adopted the city’s color of red in 1896. The city’s emblem, the liver bird, was approved as the club’s badge (or crest) in 1901, although it was not incorporated into the uniform until 1955.

Liverpool wore red jerseys and white shorts until 1964 when manager Bill Shankly chose to switch to an all-red uniform. Liverpool wore full red for the first time against Anderlecht, according to Ian St John’s memoirs.

6. Juventus F.C.

Juventus F.C.
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Serie A (Italian Club Championship)36
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)2
Coppa Italia (Domestic Title)14
UEFA Super Cup2
Supercopa Italiana9
Intercontinental Cup2

Juventus Football Club, also known as Juve, is an Italian professional football club headquartered in Turin, Piedmont, that participates in Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system.

In the Italian club football industry, it is one of the best clubs of all time. Since 1903, the team has used a black and white striped home shirt and has played home matches in several facilities throughout the city, the most recent being the 41,507-capacity Juventus Stadium. Vecchia Signora’s nickname (“the Old Lady”)

  • The club holds the record for 36 official league titles.
  • 14 Coppa Italia titles and nine Supercoppa Italiana titles.
  • Two Intercontinental Cups, two European Cups / UEFA Champions Leagues.
  • One European Cup Winners’ Cup.
  • A joint national record of three UEFA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups.
  • One UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Founded as Sport-Club Juventus, initially as an athletics club, it is the second oldest of its kind still active in the country after Genoa’s football section (1893) and has competed in every season of the premier club division (reformulated in different formats until the Serie A inception in 1929) since its debut in 1900, with the exception of the 2006-07 season, being managed almost continuously since 1923 by the industrial Agnelli family.

The club’s association with the dynasty is the oldest and longest in national sports, making Juventus one of the country’s earliest professional sporting clubs ante litteram, having established itself as a dominant force on the national scene since the 1930s.

7. A.C. Milan

A.C. Millan
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Serie A (Italian Club Championship)19
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)7
Coppa Italia (Domestic Title)5
UEFA Super Cup5
Supercopa Italiana7
Intercontinental Cup3
FIFA Club World Cup1

The professional football team Associazione Calcio Milan, also known as AC Milan or simply Milan, was established in 1899 and is based in Milan, Italy. With the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons, the club has played in the top division of Italian football, Serie A, since 1929–30. The San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, is where Milan plays its home games. Some will absolutely argue it is the best football club of all time in Italian club football and in  Europe.

The stadium, which was constructed in 1926 by Milan’s second chairman Piero Pirelli and has been shared with city rivals Internazionale since 1947, is the largest in Italian football with a capacity of 75,923 people. They compete in the Derby della Madonnina with Inter, a team with whom they have a long-standing rivalry; It is one of the football derbies with the most viewers.

  • AC Milan has the fourth most FIFA and UEFA trophies of any club and the most of any Italian club.
  • Milan has won three Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup.
  • Seven European Cup/Champions League championships (an Italian record).
  • UEFA Super Cup five times.
  • Milan is the second most successful club in Serie A, after Juventus, with 19 league titles (36 league titles).
  • They have also won the Coppa Italia five times and the Supercoppa Italiana seven times.

San Siro, commonly known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, hosts Milan’s home games. The stadium, which was erected in 1926 by Milan’s second chairman Piero Pirelli and has been shared with city rival Internazionale since 1947, is the largest in Italian football, with a total capacity of 75,923.

They have a long-standing rivalry with Inter, with whom they compete in the Derby della Madonnina, one of football’s most popular derbies. The club is one of the wealthiest in both Italian and international football. [It was a founding member of both the now-defunct G-14 group of Europe’s top football teams and its successor, the European Club Association.

8. AFC Ajax

AFC Ajax
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Eredivisie (Dutch Club Championship)36
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)4
KNBV Cup (Domestic Title)20
UEFA Super Cup2
Johan Cruyff Shield9
Intercontinental Cup2

The Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a professional football team in the Netherlands. It is based in Amsterdam and competes in the Eredivisie, the highest division of Dutch football. With 36 Eredivisie titles and 20 KNVB Cups, Ajax, named after the legendary Greek hero, is the most successful club in Dutch history. Since the league’s inception in 1956, it has played in the Eredivisie on a regular basis. It is one of the “big three” clubs in the country that have dominated that competition, along with Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven.

In the 20th century, Ajax was one of the most successful clubs in the world. As per the Global Alliance of Football History and Measurements, Ajax was the seventh-best European club of the twentieth 100 years and The World’s Club Group of the Year in 1992. According to the German magazine Kicker, Ajax was the second-best European club of the twentieth 100 years. The club is one of five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and wear a badge that says they have won multiple games.

  • They won the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup, and the European Cup in 1972, completing the continental triple.
  • They also won the inaugural (though unofficial) European Super Cup in January 1973, defeating Rangers.
  • The most recent international titles won by Ajax are the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, the 1995 UEFA Super Cup, and the 1995 Champions League, which they won after defeating Milan in the final.
  • World Soccer magazine named Ajax World Team of the Year in 1995.
  • Ajax is also one of four clubs to have won the continental triple as well as the Intercontinental Cup or Club World Cup in the same season/calendar year, which they did in 1971-72.

Ajax plays in the Johan Cruyff Arena, which originally opened in 1996 as the Amsterdam Aren and was renamed in 2018. Previously, they performed in De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium (for international matches). Ajax has built a reputation for scouting, recognizing, and developing young talent throughout its history, and they have stayed committed to creating a development system. In the Dutch club football industry and in Europe, it is arguably one of the best football clubs of all time.

9. FC Porto

FC Porto
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Primeira Liga (Portuguese Club Championship)30
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)2
UEFA Europa League2
Taca De Portugal (Domestic Title)18
UEFA Super Cup1
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira23
Intercontinental Cup2

Futebol Clube do Porto, also known as FC Porto or simply Porto is a professional football club headquartered in Porto, Portugal. It is most known for its professional football team, which competes in the Primeira Liga, Portugal’s top level. Porto, founded on September 28, 1893, is one of the “Big Three” (Portuguese: Os Três Grandes) teams in Portugal, together with rivals Benfica and Sporting CP from Lisbon, that have played in every season of the Primeira Liga since its inception in 1934.

They are known as Drages (Dragons) because of the mythological beast atop the club’s emblem and Azuis e brancos (Blue-and-whites) because of their jersey colors. These colors are combined in stripes with blue shorts.

  • The Portuguese Orders of Merit and Prince Henry’s Order honor Porto.
  • With 82 major trophies, 75 of which were won in domestic competitions, Porto is Portugal’s second-most decorated team in the competition.
  • These include a record-setting 30 Primeira Liga titles, 18 Taça de Portugal titles, 4 Campeonato de Portugal titles, and a record 23 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira titles.
  • Five of these titles were won in a row between 1994–95 and 1998–99, which is a record for Portuguese football.
  • After achieving the feat in 2012–13, Porto became the second team in the history of the Portuguese league to win a title without losing (2010–11).
  • On their way to a second quadruple, Porto achieved the greatest ever gap in points between champion and runner-up in a three-points-per-win system (21 points).
  • With seven awards from international competitions, Porto is the most decorated Portuguese team.
  • In 1987 and 2004, they won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, in 2003 and 2011, the UEFA Cup/Europa League, in 1987, the UEFA Super Cup; and in 1987 and 2004, they won the Intercontinental Cup.
  • They also finished second in the European Cup Winners’ Cup from 1983 to 1984, as well as in the UEFA Super Cup in 2003, 2004, and 2011.
  • Since 2002–03 and 2010–11, Porto has been the only club in Portugal to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup, as well as a continental treble of domestic league, domestic cup, and European titles.
  • After Real Madrid and Barcelona, Porto has made the most appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stage. At the conclusion of the 2021–22 season.
  • Porto ranked 16th in the club coefficient rankings and 9th in the all-time club ranking in UEFA.

José Mourinho, also known as The Special One, the coach of Unio de Leiria who had previously worked with Robson for the team, was hired by Porto two days later. Mourinho immediately displayed his personality during his presentation by stating categorically that the club would win the league title the following season.

He delivered on his promise and had one of the club’s greatest seasons. Porto won the 2002–03 Primeira Liga with relative ease, finishing 11 points ahead of Benfica, who finished in second place. They had players like Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, Maniche, and Paulo Ferreira, Pedro Emanuel, Nuno Valente, and Derlei, less well-known players hired from other Portuguese clubs. In addition, the club won the UEFA Cup, defeating Celtic in a thrilling extra-time match to claim its second major European title. After that, Mourinho defeated his former club in the Taça de Portugal final to give Porto an unprecedented treble.

10. Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund
Name of the TitlesNumber of Achievement
Bundesliga (German Club Championship)8
UEFA Champions League (European Championship)1
DFB Pokal (Domestic Title)5
DFL Super Cup6
European Winners Cup1
Intercontinental Cup1

Borussia Dortmund BVB (Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund) is a German professional sports club headquartered in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is most known for its men’s professional football team, which competes in the Bundesliga, Germany’s highest tier of football leagues. In terms of club football, we can not ignore the impact of this football club.

  • Eight league titles.
  • Five DFB-Pokals.
  • One UEFA Champions League.
  • One Intercontinental Cup.
  • One UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup has been won by the club.

The football team was founded in 1909 by eighteen Dortmund football players and is part of a major membership-based sports club with over 145,000 members, making Borussia Dortmund the second largest sports club by membership in Germany.

The colors of Borussia Dortmund are black and yellow, earning the club the moniker die Schwarzgelben. They have a long history of rivalry with Ruhr rivals Schalke 04, with whom they compete in the Revierderby. They also compete in Der Klassiker against Bayern Munich. According to Deloitte’s annual Football Money League, Dortmund will be the second-richest sports club in Germany and the 12th-richest football team in the world in 2021.

Furthermore, under Michael Zorc’s direction in the 2010s, Dortmund established a reputation for discovering and nurturing young talent and have stayed committed to creating a development system. They have also gained praise for their overall commitment to an offensive footballing mentality.

Conclusion:

Football is a game that unites people; millions of eyes are watching this beautiful game. Every moment can turn into magic in a blink of an eye. An hour and a half go by a second while watching.

It is truly a gift to mankind to witness such art in their lifetime. Where the World Cup arranges itself after four years, club football keeps things alive and keeps the viewers from enjoying the beautiful game.

The majestic sport has been blessed with many phenomenal players for generations. The football clubs mentioned here are one of those who created some of the best players in the history of football and who shaped the game in their respective clubs and country.

So pretty much so, they are the club to look for as they are without doubt the best football clubs of all time.

The football clubs carry a legacy that will go on forever; as a new generation comes, they will tell the fairytale of each club they support with their own passion, emotion, and love for the game.

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Shebbroto Halder has been writing for years on Football. He has also played Football at the state level in his time. His passion for Football has made him what he is today. He enjoys keeping up with everything related to Football.

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