by The League Cup victory represented FC Porto’s 83rd title and brought back the theme of the national team with the most titles, a “rivalry” between the Dragons and Benfica. It is a question that has lasted a long time and stems from different interpretations. The same is happening all over Europe. THE more football they looked for the clubs with the most titles on the continent and if we conclude that Porto and Benfica are part of an elite, behind only four clubs, the final accounts are always subject to many questions about the trophies that will be framed. .
This approach follows the criteria generally established for official senior team competitions, nationally and internationally: the national championship, cups and Super Cups, as well as European and intercontinental competitions. However, with more than a century of history behind us and difficulties in determining the status of certain tests in certain periods, there are many cases in which even these criteria are not linear and open the way to different measurements.
There is a lot of weird data to analyze. First of all, the fact that in two of the major leagues there are also two clubs competing club by club for the leadership of this ranking: Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain and Liverpool and Manchester United in England. There are others where there is clear hegemony of one club, such as Bayern Munich in Germany, Juventus in Italy, PSG in England, Olympiakos in Greece or Ajax in the Netherlands.
Rangers and Celtic, the centenarians
And then another separate championship follows. The two record holders for these accounts live in Scotland. Rangers are first in the standings followed by Celtic. They are the only two clubs among the main European leagues to have more than 100 titles. So how many trophies do you have? It depends on the criteria, there it is.
If we stick to the top division titles, extending this criterion to all clubs, the Rangers have 117 trophies and Celtic 113. Although some sources attribute four more trophies to the Glasgow blues, accounting for three titles in the lower divisions and a further one in the Challenge Cup, a third cup in Scotland which took many forms and where first division clubs are now represented from the sub-divisions – 21. A warning about another curiosity, which continues in the British Isles. Even if they are not in the main table, given the reduced expression of the Northern Ireland league, Linfield have an incredible record of 114 trophies, counting only leagues, cups and Super Cups.
Real Madrid and Barcelona accounts
Next up are the two giants from Spain. Also regarding the trophies of Barcelona and Real Madrid there are several questions. If we stick to the more restrictive concept, Real Madrid have 95 trophies and Barcelona 90, after this month’s Super Cup against their arch-rivals. But in the Spanish case there was a test that preceded the Super Cup, the Eva Duarte Cup, under the auspices of the federation. Including her, Barcelona have three more trophies and Real Madrid one more. Thus, 96 for Real and 93 for Barcelona.
Then there are the predecessors of the European competitions, which are not recognized by UEFA: the Fairs Cup and the Latin Cup. Barcelona won three Fairs Cups and 2 Latin Cups, Real Madrid has two Latin Cups. If these competitions are included, Barca now have 98 trophies, the same as Real. To complicate matters, there are other “single” trophies. Real Madrid has 99 titles. The “merengues” do not count the Eva Duarte Cup, but count the two Latin Cups and even two victories in the Mundialito in the 50s, a test not recognized by FIFA.
Noting then the record of Spain’s two record holders:
Real Madrid: 35 Leagues, 19 Copa del Rey, 12 Spanish Super Cup, 1 League Cup, 1 Eva Duarte Cup, 14 Champions League/Cup, 2 UEFA Cups, 3 Intercontinental Cups, 4 Club World Cups, 5 European Super Cups – 96
Barcelona: 26 leagues, 31 King’s Cups, 14 Spanish Super Cups, 2 League Cups, 3 Eva Duarte Cups, 5 Cups/Champions League, 4 Cup Winners’ Cups, 3 Club World Cups, 5 European Super Cups – 93
Bayern in the 80s
One of the most successful clubs in Europe, Bayern Munich. There are 82 trophies or 83 in the club accounts, which includes the German Super Cup won in 1983, a trophy with unofficial status. These are 32 league titles, 20 Cups, 11 Super Cups (one as an unofficial competition), 6 Cups/Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 2 Club World Cups and 2 European Super Cups.
In the big leagues it follows Juventus, with 70 trophies, counting 36 league titles, 14 Italian Cups, 9 Super Cups, 2 Cups/Champions League, 3 UEFA Cups/Europa League, 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, 2 European Super Cups, 2 Intercontinental Cups and 1 Intertoto Cup. And not counting the Serie B title in 2006/07.
In France, PSG lead the way, thanks to their dominance in recent years, but at a much lower level, with a total of 46 titles. Extending the approach, we point out that Olympiacos, which has 79 titles, with a record 47 national championships, plus 28 Cups and four Super Cups. And yet the Ajax, with 76 titles: 36 national championship titles, 20 Cups, 9 Super Cups, 4 Cups/Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, 2 Intercontinental Cups and 3 European Super Cups.
England: match between Liverpool and Manchester United
In England, in a historically very competitive league, no club comes close to these numbers, but there is also a race between Liverpool and Manchester United. Here, too, the accounts are not unanimous.
At this point, again by the strictest criteria, there is a tie between the two, 66 titles apiece. But both clubs also won in the lower divisions: Liverpool have four second-tier trophies and Manchester United two. The “reds” also won the Football League Super Cup, a unique competition held in 1986 under the auspices of the Football League. Not counting those trophies, this is the record of both clubs:
Liverpool: 19 leagues, 8 FA Cups, 9 League Cups, 16 FA Super Cups, 6 Champions League/Cup, 3 UEFA Cups, 1 Club World Cup, 4 European Super Cups – 66
Manchester United: 20 leagues, 12 FA Cups, 5 League Cups, 21 FA Cups, 3 Champions League/Cup, 1 Europa League, 1 Cup Winners’ Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 Club World Cup, 4 European Super Cups – 66
The article has been updated
