How many Spanish clubs have won the Champions League?

Spanish clubs have won the European Cup or UEFA Champions League on 20 occasions. La Liga teams have also made more final appearances than those from any other nation, with 31 in total.

Let’s take a look at how many Spanish clubs have won the Champions League and how many have finished as runners-up.

Which Spanish teams have won the Champions League?

Real Madrid – 15 times

Real Madrid have been crowned European champions a record 15 times, with their most recent success coming under Carlo Ancelotti in the 2023/24 season. A 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley sealed the trophy, with Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior scoring the goals.

The club’s love affair with the competition started in the early years of the European Cup, which were dominated by Los Blancos. A team that included all-time great Alfredo Di Stefano won each of the first five editions of a tournament that began in the 1955/56 season. They’d win it again in 1965/66 but then followed a 32-year wait for the seventh, which was clinched in Amsterdam in 1998 with a 1-0 win against Juventus.

The Spanish giants have more than doubled their tally since then with victories in 2000 and 2002, before the much-sought-after “decima” arrived in 2013/14 under Ancelotti.

Zinedine Zidane’s side claimed a hat-trick of wins between 2016 and 2018, before Ancelotti returned to add number 14 with a victory over Liverpool in Paris in 2022 and number 15 in 2024.

Real Madrid have been the undisputed dominant force in the competition over the past decade. Their uncanny ability to come from behind and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat has produced numerous famous European nights at the Bernabeu.

Barcelona – 5 times

There are only two Spanish clubs on the Champions League winners list, with Barcelona being crowned European champions on five occasions to take La Liga’s overall tally to 20.

Barca didn’t open their account until 1992, when Ronald Koeman’s extra-time goal saw off Sampdoria in London to give Johan Cruyff’s side a famous win and end nearly three decades of failure for La Liga clubs in Europe’s premier competition.

Barcelona’s next triumph was in the 2005/06 season, when they beat Arsenal in the final. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side then won the trophy in 2009 and 2011, defeating Manchester United in the final on each occasion.

The only triumph in the post-Pep era at Camp Nou came in 2014/15 when Barcelona won the treble under Luis Enrique. While they’ve won the league many times since, they’ve not made it past the last four in Europe. However, hopes are high that Hansi Flick’s team can buck that trend this year.

Which Spanish teams have reached the Champions League final?

Real Madrid – 18 times

Real Madrid have a very impressive success rate in European Cup and Champions League finals, winning 83% of them. They’ve reached the showpiece on 18 occasions in total and haven’t lost one during the modern Champions League era.

The most recent defeat in a European Cup final for Los Blancos was way back in 1981, when they were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool in Paris. They also finished as runners-up in both 1962 and 1964 against Benfica and Inter Milan, respectively.

Barcelona – 8 times

Barcelona have also finished as runners-up on three occasions. Their first European Cup final was in 1961, when they suffered a 3-2 defeat against Benfica.

They wouldn’t reach another for a quarter of a century until Terry Venables’ side were stunned by Steaua Bucharest in Seville. Barca missed all four penalties in the shootout after the game ended goalless.

While they did get their hands on the trophy six years later, they also suffered a 4-0 defeat to Milan in the 1994 final. The Catalan giants have won all four Champions League finals they’ve reached since.

Atletico Madrid – 3 times

No club has reached the European Cup/Champions League final more times without winning one than Atletico Madrid. To make matters worse, two of their three final defeats were against city rivals Real Madrid.

Both were agonising losses too. Diego Simeone’s side were a matter of seconds away from triumphing in Lisbon in 2014 before Sergio Ramos’ famous late header took the game to extra time, when Real Madrid blew their neighbours away.

2016 saw another Madrid derby final in Milan, with Atleti losing out on penalties that time, following a 1-1 draw.

Atletico Madrid’s other European Cup final appearance was way back in 1974. Up against Bayern Munich, they drew 1-1, resulting in the one and only European Cup final replay, which the Bavarians won convincingly.

Valencia – 2 times

Valencia are the only other Spanish club to have made the final and they did it in back-to-back years in 2000 and 2001 under Hector Cuper.

Los Che were one of the strongest teams in Spain at the time, with Mestalla a fortress on European nights. However, they failed to produce their best football in the first final, losing 3-0 to Vicente del Bosque’s Real Madrid.

Back for more a year later, they went toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich in Milan, taking the lead in just the third minute of a game that ultimately went to penalties. Both sides missed two of their opening five spot-kicks, but Mauricio Pellegrino’s failure to convert ultimately proved decisive as Valencia, narrowly missed out on the chance to write a piece of European and Spanish football history.