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The UEFA Champions League is the golden trophy all European teams compete for. It’s the highest honor and most prestigious piece of silverware any professional soccer team dreams of claiming outside their respective domestic leagues. While the trophy is up for grabs by many teams, only a few have consistently claimed it.
That’s why we’ve outlined the five most recent UEFA Champions League victors (from 2020 to 2024), including which teams won it and when, how the final match concluded, and any notable players on the team, as well as which team is likely to win it this year!
The 2019-2020 FC Bayern Munich team would pull off one of its best seasons. After just seven years since their last Champions League title, the 2020 Bayern Munich squad defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 with a crucial 59’ goal scored by Kingsley Coman. This Bayern Munich team composed of players like Thomas Muller, Manuel Neur, Joshua Kimmich, Thiago Alcantara, Alphonso Davies and Lucas Hernadez would not only take home the Champions League trophy, but they won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal DFL-Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Fifa Club World setting a historic record of achieving six titles in a year.
Chelsea FC rallied for the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League trophy, nearly nine years after their last one, with a 1-0 upset over Manchester City with a 42’ goal from Kai Havertz. While their squad boasted the personnel of Antonio Rudiger, Andres Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso, Reece James and N’Golo Kante, Chelsea would only finish 4th place in the Premier League that year, with no other trophies to show for other than arguably the most important one of all.
The 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League winners of Real Madrid were no strangers to winning silverware of this caliber, as it had only been four years since their triple back-to-back Champions League winning stretch. The 2022 final against Liverpool was a mirror matchup of the 2018 final, except this time, the Royal White won off a narrow 1-0 margin after a 59’ goal from Vinicius Junior. With the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Frederico Valverde, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Casemiro, Karim Benzema, Rodrygo and Eden Hazard, the team won the La Liga title, the Supercopa and the UCL all in the same year.
This would be the first and only UEFA Champions League trophy for the Manchester City side, making history against Inter Milan with a 68’ strike from Rodri. Main contributors on this squad included Ederson, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Rodri, Phil Foden, Erlin Haaland and Julian Alvarez. Man City would achieve the prestigious treble, winning the English Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League all in the same year, in what was their best season to date.
Once again, Real Madrid would find themselves as the 2024 UEFA Champions League victors with a 2-0 result against Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, with a goal from Dani Carvajal in the 74’ and an insurance goal from Vincicious Junior in the 83’. The 2024 Real Madrid squad featured many returning players from their 2022 Championship team, including Thibaut Courtois, Rodrygo, Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, Vincius Junior, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. In total this year, the team would snatch three major trophies, including the UCL, the Spanish Supercopa and the La Liga title.
As we head into the Champions League final on May 31, 2025, we find PSG vs Inter Milan in a matchup featuring two main runner-ups from past years. While Inter Milan are experienced with international play and winning lots of trophies in the past, their last Champions League final victory was against Bayern Munich in 2010. Paris Saint-Germain have never won this trophy, and with their intense offensive firepower and pace this season, I predict they will secure their first-ever Champions League trophy in 2025.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.