The Champions League — The Big Book of Football, Book 11

1 Chapter One

Tuesday Night Is Magic Night

Every country in Europe has its own league. But who is the best of the best? The Champions League finds out.

The idea

Champions vs champions

Take the top clubs from every country in Europe — 36 of them — and make them play each other until only one is left. The winner isn't just the best team in England, or Spain, or Germany. They are the champions of champions. Kings of a whole continent.

Played from September to May, mostly on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Thursdays are for the two little-brother competitions, the Europa League and the Conference League.

Bengaluru problem

Why Papa is yawning on Wednesdays

The big matches kick off at 9 o'clock at night in Europe. In Bengaluru that is after midnight — half past twelve, or half past one in winter. The early games start around bedtime here (a quarter past ten, or a quarter past eleven in winter). So the grown-up rule is: highlights at breakfast are allowed. But here's the good news: since 2026 the FINAL kicks off at 6 in the evening in Europe — that's 9:30 at night in Bengaluru. You can watch the whole thing. That's this book's official permission slip.

Asia has its own version too — the AFC Champions League — and Kolkata's East Bengal (yes, the hilsa club from Book 10) are playing in it this season.

Before every single match, the players line up in a circle of stars and this plays:

Die Meister! Die Besten!
Les grandes équipes!
The champions!

German, French and English — all in one song. It means "The masters! The best! The great teams! The champions!"

See the kids holding the players' hands as they walk out? They're called player escorts. One day that could be you, standing next to Mbappé while the anthem plays.

The song is borrowed from a KING. In 1992 a composer called Tony Britten was told to write the Champions League anthem. He took a tune written by Handel in 1727 for crowning King George II — music called Zadok the Priest that has been sung at every British coronation since — and turned it into the most famous football song on Earth. The great Zinedine Zidane called hearing it "magic". So does every player who has ever lined up for it.

⭐

The ball of stars

The Champions League badge is a ball made of eight stars — one for each of the eight teams in the very first group stage in 1992. A designer called Phil Clements drew it in about ten minutes. And the match ball copies it: the panels are star-shaped too.

📅

The Saturday final

The final used to be on a Wednesday night. Since 2010 it has been on a Saturday — so more kids can watch. The whole season comes down to one game in one stadium: 36 teams start, one lifts the cup.

👂

Big Ears

The trophy is nicknamed "Big Ears" because of its two enormous handles. It's made of solid silver, stands about as tall as a two-year-old (73.5 cm) and weighs around 7.5 kg — about the same as the heaviest ten-pin bowling ball. Chapter 7 tells you its secrets.

New word

Knockout
A match (or two-match "tie") where the loser goes home for good. No second chances, no next week. That's why Champions League nights feel like the whole world is holding its breath.

2 Chapter Two

It Started With an Argument

The biggest club competition in the world exists because two newspapers had a fight. Really.

England · 13 December 1954

"Champions of the world!"

One winter night, English club Wolves played Hungary's Honvéd under brand-new floodlights — a rare thing in 1954. Honvéd had Ferenc Puskás, one of the greatest players ever, and went 2–0 up. Wolves came back to win 3–2. The next morning an English newspaper shouted: "HAIL WOLVES, CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD!"

In France, a sports writer called Gabriel Hanot read that and snorted. Champions of the world? After ONE match at home? "Let's wait until Wolves have played in Moscow or Budapest," he wrote. "There are other great clubs — Milan, Real Madrid…" And then he had the idea that changed football: a competition where the champions of every country play each other. The European Cup was born from a newspaper argument.

Lisbon · 4 September 1955

The first ever match

Sixteen clubs from sixteen countries joined the first European Cup. The first match ever, Sporting Lisbon against Partizan Belgrade, finished 3–3. The first goal in the whole history of the competition was scored by a Portuguese player called João Baptista Martins in the 14th minute — remember his name, because almost nobody else does!

England's champions Chelsea were talked OUT of entering — the men who ran English football thought Europe would be a "distraction". Scotland's Hibernian, who had only finished FIFTH in their league, went instead… and reached the semi-final.

Real Madrid · 1956 to 1960

Five in a row. FIVE.

Real Madrid won the first ever final 4–3 against Reims of France — after going 2–0 down inside ten minutes. Then they won the next one. And the next. And the next. And the next. Five European Cups in a row, 1956 to 1960. Nobody has ever done it since, and probably nobody ever will.

The last of the five was the greatest match of them all. Glasgow, 1960: Real Madrid 7–3 Eintracht Frankfurt, watched by 127,621 people — still the biggest crowd ever at a final. Ferenc Puskás (yes, the same Puskás from that Wolves match!) scored FOUR. Alfredo Di Stéfano scored THREE. Two hat-tricks in one final. Ten goals. A record that has stood for more than sixty years.

In 1957 Real Madrid won the final in their OWN stadium — 2–0 against Fiorentina at the Bernabéu, in front of about 124,000 of their own fans. Imagine lifting the biggest trophy in Europe in your own back garden.

Name change

European Cup → Champions League
For 37 years it was called the European Cup. In 1992 it got a new name, a new song and a new ball-of-stars badge — the Champions League. The first winners under the new name were Marseille of France, who beat Milan 1–0 in 1993 with a header from Basile Boli. Same trophy, new era.

3 Chapter Three

How to Win It

Thirty-six teams. One giant table. Then the knockouts. Here is the whole road, step by step.

Get in

Finish in the top four of the league in England, Spain, Italy or Germany and you're straight in. France gets three places, the Netherlands two, and most countries just one. The two countries whose clubs did best in Europe last season get a bonus spot — that's how 5th-placed Liverpool and Real Betis sneaked in this year. Champions of smaller countries have to fight through qualifying rounds in July and August: this summer 52 teams started, and only 7 made it.

The robot draw

The 36 clubs are sorted into four pots of nine, best clubs in Pot 1. A famous player picks a ball with a club's name out of a pot — and then a computer instantly chooses that club's eight opponents: two from each pot, four at home, four away. Rules: you can't be drawn against a club from your own country, and no more than two from any other country.

The league phase

From September to January every club plays its 8 matches. That's 144 games, all feeding into ONE big table of 36 teams. On the last night — 27 January — all 18 matches kick off at exactly the same time, so nobody knows the final table until the very last whistle.

The table decides

Top 8: straight into the last 16 — and a rest in February. 9th to 24th: a two-match "play-off" for the other eight spots. 25th to 36th: out. Gone. Not even a drop into the Europa League. Last season the champions PSG finished only 11th and had to do it the hard way.

The knockouts

Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals — each one is a "tie" of two matches, one at each stadium, and you add the goals together. Level after both? Thirty minutes of extra time, then penalties. The bracket is fixed from the start like a tennis draw, so you can see your whole possible road to the final. Teams that finished high in the big table get to play the second match at home.

The final

One match. One stadium. A Saturday evening. The winner lifts Big Ears and hears the anthem played one last time. The next final is on 5 June 2027 at the Metropolitano in Madrid, kicking off at 9:30pm Bengaluru time. From 36 teams and 189 matches, one champion.

It pays to turn up. Every club in the league phase gets about €18.6 million just for being there — roughly 180 crore rupees — plus about €2.1 million for every win. PSG earned around €144 million for winning it in 2025. That's why every club in Europe wants a Tuesday night under the stars.

The little brothers

Europa League & Conference League

Europa League — the second cup, played on Thursdays. Win it and you get a place in next season's Champions League. Aston Villa won it in 2026, beating Freiburg 3–0 in Istanbul.

Conference League — the third cup, for clubs from smaller leagues and lower finishers. Crystal Palace won it in 2026, 1–0 against Rayo Vallecano.

New this season: a player is banned after FOUR yellow cards (it used to be three), and the stadium clocks are finally allowed to keep counting past 90:00.

Who runs it?

UEFA
The club of Europe's 55 football countries, based in the little Swiss town of Nyon. UEFA organises the whole competition — the draw, the anthem, the trophy, the referees. There's even a Champions League for teenagers, the UEFA Youth League, which Real Madrid's under-19s won in 2026.

New word

Aggregate
The two-match total. Lose 0–3 away and win 4–0 at home, and you win the tie 4–3 "on aggregate". Remember that word — the whole of Chapter 5 is built on it.

4 Chapter Four

Kings of Europe

Seventy-one finals have been played. Here is who won them, and every record worth knowing.

Club	Titles	Finals	Latest win
Real Madrid 🇪🇸	15	18	2024
AC Milan 🇮🇹	7	11	2007
Bayern Munich 🇩🇪	6	11	2020
Liverpool 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿	6	10	2019
Barcelona 🇪🇸	5	8	2015
Ajax 🇳🇱	4	6	1995
Inter 🇮🇹	3	7	2010
Manchester United 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿	3	5	2008
Paris Saint-Germain 🇫🇷	2	3	2026 · holders
Chelsea 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿	2	3	2021
Juventus 🇮🇹	2	9	1996 · lost 7 finals!
Benfica 🇵🇹 · Porto 🇵🇹 · Nottingham Forest 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿	2 each		1962 · 2004 · 1980

By country: Spain 20 · England 15 · Italy 12 · Germany 8 · Netherlands 6 · Portugal 4 · France 3 · Scotland, Romania and Yugoslavia 1 each.

140Most goals everCristiano Ronaldo — Messi is next on 129

183Most matchesRonaldo again. Casillas 177, Messi & Müller 163

17Most goals in one seasonRonaldo, 2013-14. Mbappé's 15 last season didn't beat it

59 in 59A goal every gameErling Haaland — fastest ever to 50 goals

6Most wins by a playerGento, Kroos, Modrić, Carvajal & Nacho — all Real Madrid

5Most wins by a managerCarlo Ancelotti — 2 with Milan, 3 with Real Madrid

3Won it with 3 clubsOnly Clarence Seedorf: Ajax, Real Madrid, Milan

8Most hat-tricksMessi and Ronaldo, tied. Of course.

26Longest unbeaten runManchester City, 2022 to 2024

135,805Biggest crowd everCeltic v Leeds, Hampden Park, 1970

7Clubs Zlatan played forIbrahimović never won it with any of them

0Titles for AtléticoThree finals, three defeats. Arsenal: two finals, two defeats

All-time top scorers still changing	Goals	Clubs
1. Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹	140	Man United, Real Madrid, Juventus
2. Lionel Messi 🇦🇷	129	Barcelona, PSG
3. Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱	109	Dortmund, Bayern, Barcelona
4. Karim Benzema 🇫🇷	90	Lyon, Real Madrid
5= Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷 · still playing	71	Monaco, PSG, Real Madrid
5= Raúl 🇪🇸	71	Real Madrid, Schalke
7. Erling Haaland 🇳🇴 · still playing	59	Salzburg, Dortmund, Man City
8. Thomas Müller 🇩🇪	57	Bayern
9. Ruud van Nistelrooy 🇳🇱	56	PSV, Man United, Real Madrid
10. Harry Kane 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 · still playing	55	Tottenham, Bayern

Counted up to 14 September 2026 — one matchday into the new season. Mbappé, Haaland and Kane are all still scoring, so these numbers grow every Tuesday and Wednesday. Ronaldo's 140 is safe for a while: Mbappé would need about five more seasons like his last one to catch him.

5 Chapter Five

The Greatest Nights

In the Champions League, "it's over" is never true until the referee blows the whistle. These are the nights that proved it.

1999

Two goals in two minutes

Final · Barcelona · Manchester United 2–1 Bayern Munich

6' Bayern 1–0… 84 minutes of nothing …90+1' Sheringham90+3' Solskjær

Bayern scored in the 6th minute and led for the WHOLE match. It was so nearly over that Bayern's ribbons were already tied onto the trophy, and the president of UEFA had left his seat to go and present it. Then, in stoppage time, United's two substitutes scored twice in two minutes. The president stepped out of the lift and saw the wrong team celebrating. He said afterwards: "The winners are crying and the losers are dancing." United had won the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League in ten days — the Treble.

2005

The Miracle of Istanbul

Final · Istanbul · Liverpool 3–3 Milan (Liverpool win on penalties)

1' Maldini39' Crespo44' CrespoHALF-TIME 0–354' Gerrard56' Šmicer60' Alonso

Milan scored inside the first minute. By half-time it was 0–3. Liverpool fans were singing sadly, just to keep warm. Then captain Steven Gerrard headed one in. Two minutes later, Šmicer. Four minutes after that, Xabi Alonso scored the rebound from his own saved penalty. Three goals in six minutes. 3–3. In the penalty shootout, Liverpool's keeper Jerzy Dudek did the silliest dance a final has ever seen — wobbling his legs like jelly on the goal-line — and Milan missed three of their five kicks. It's still the greatest comeback a final has ever seen — and it earned Liverpool the right to keep the real trophy forever.

2008

The slip in the rain

Final · Moscow · Manchester United 1–1 Chelsea (United win 6–5 on penalties)

26' Ronaldo45' LampardPenalties in the pouring rainRonaldo missesTerry slips… and hits the postVan der Sar saves from Anelka

An all-English final in Moscow, in the rain, at nearly midnight. 1–1. Penalties. Cristiano Ronaldo's kick was saved — so when Chelsea's captain John Terry walked up for the fifth penalty, one kick would win the trophy. He planted his foot on the wet grass, slipped, and the ball hit the post. Sudden death. Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka. United won 6–5. Terry cried; Ronaldo cried too (happy tears). Everybody slips sometimes — even captains.

2012

Beaten in their own house

Final · Munich · Bayern 1–1 Chelsea (Chelsea win on penalties)

83' Müller88' DrogbaExtra time: Čech saves Robben's penaltyDrogba scores the winning penalty

The final was played in Bayern's OWN stadium. Bayern scored with seven minutes left. Chelsea's Didier Drogba answered with a thumping header in the 88th minute, Petr Čech saved a penalty in extra time — and then Drogba walked up and scored the last kick of the shootout himself. First London club ever to win it. In Munich. Against Munich.

2014

La Décima — the tenth

Final · Lisbon · Real Madrid 4–1 Atlético Madrid (after extra time)

36' Godín90+3' Ramos110' Bale118' Marcelo120' Ronaldo

Real Madrid had waited twelve years for their tenth European Cup. Against their neighbours Atlético — the first final ever between two clubs from the same city — they were losing 1–0 with the clock past 92 minutes. Sergio Ramos rose to a corner and headed in. The whole stadium seemed to lean. Then Real scored three more in extra time. Ten titles. They now have fifteen.

2017

La Remontada

Round of 16 · Barcelona 6–1 PSG (after losing 0–4 in Paris)

3' Suárez40' own goal50' Messi62' Cavani88' Neymar90+1' Neymar90+5' Sergi Roberto

Nobody had EVER come back from four goals down. Barcelona lost 0–4 in Paris, then went 3–0 up at home — still not enough. When Cavani scored for PSG, Barcelona needed three more goals. With seven minutes left. Neymar scored a free kick. Neymar scored a penalty. And in the 95th minute Neymar chipped the ball into the box shouting "Get in there! You're going to score!" — and Sergi Roberto did. 6–1. 6–5 overall. The stadium shook.

2019

Corner taken quickly

Semi-final · Anfield · Liverpool 4–0 Barcelona (after losing 0–3 away)

7' Origi54' Wijnaldum56' Wijnaldum79' Origi

Liverpool were 0–3 down to Messi's Barcelona and missing their two best strikers, Salah and Firmino. They scored three anyway. Then came the sneakiest goal ever. A teenage ball boy called Oakley Cannonier rolled the ball super-fast to Trent Alexander-Arnold at a corner. Trent pretended to walk away… then turned and whipped it in while Barcelona's defenders were looking the other way. Divock Origi: goal. The commentator screamed "Corner taken quickly… ORIGI!" Liverpool fans voted it the greatest goal in the club's history.

2019

The very next night

Semi-final · Amsterdam · Ajax 2–3 Tottenham

HALF-TIME: Spurs 0–3 down overall55' Lucas Moura59' Lucas Moura90+6' Lucas Moura

As if one miracle wasn't enough, twenty-four hours later Tottenham were three goals behind overall at half-time in Amsterdam. Lucas Moura scored two in four minutes. Then, with almost the last kick of the match, deep in stoppage time, he scored a third. Hat-trick. Spurs reached their first final ever. Two impossible comebacks, two nights in a row.

2022

The miracle run

Real Madrid come from behind in THREE ties in a row — then win the final

v PSG: Benzema 61', 76', 78'v Chelsea: Benzema 96'v Man City: Rodrygo 90', 90+1'Final: Vinícius 59'

Losing to PSG? Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick in 17 minutes. Losing to Chelsea? Benzema again, in extra time. Losing 5–3 overall to Manchester City with the clock on 90? Rodrygo scored twice in 90 seconds, then Benzema won it in extra time. In the final, Real beat Liverpool 1–0 and keeper Thibaut Courtois made nine saves. The Bernabéu is the one place where "it's over" means "watch this".

2026

Five from the Arctic

Round of 16 · Lisbon · Sporting 5–0 Bodø/Glimt (after losing 0–3 in Norway)

First leg: 0–3 in the snow34' InácioPoteSuárez (pen)91' Araújo120+1' Nel

The newest miracle happened THIS year. Bodø/Glimt, a club from a town north of the Arctic Circle, had already shocked Europe by knocking out Inter — the previous season's finalists. Then they beat Sporting 3–0 at home. In Lisbon, Sporting fired in 38 shots, scored three, and levelled the tie; Araújo scored the earliest extra-time goal in Champions League history, and Rafael Nel finished it. 5–0. Only the fifth team ever to come back from three goals down.

⚡ And three goals you should watch on repeat

Zidane, 2002 final: a high cross dropped out of the Glasgow sky and he volleyed it into the top corner with his WEAKER left foot. Real Madrid's ninth cup, in their 100th birthday year.

Bale, 2018 final: on as a substitute for barely three minutes, he scored an overhead bicycle kick against Liverpool. First sub ever to score twice in a final.

Ronaldo, 2018: a bicycle kick so good in Turin that the Juventus fans — the OTHER team's fans — stood up and applauded him. That summer he signed for Juventus.

6 Chapter Six

Right Now: The New Kings

For eleven years the trophy lived in Madrid, Munich, Liverpool, Manchester or London. Then Paris came along.

Munich · 31 May 2025

PSG 5–0 Inter: the biggest final win ever

Paris Saint-Germain had spent years and fortunes chasing this trophy and never won it. Then, in one night, they did it in style: 5–0, the biggest winning margin in any final, ever. A 19-year-old called Désiré Doué scored twice and set up another. Another teenager, Senny Mayulu, scored the fifth. Only Real Madrid's 7–3 in 1960 has had more goals from one team in a final.

Weird but true: PSG had finished only 15th in the league phase that season and had to go through the play-offs. Then they beat Liverpool on penalties, Aston Villa, Arsenal — and Inter.

Budapest · 30 May 2026

PSG 1–1 Arsenal: won on penalties

Arsenal had the perfect season — the first team EVER to win all eight league-phase games — and reached their first final in twenty years. Kai Havertz scored after just 6 minutes. PSG levelled with a second-half penalty from Ousmane Dembélé. 1–1 after extra time. Penalties.

Arsenal's keeper David Raya saved one. But Eberechi Eze shot wide, and with the very last kick, Gabriel put the ball over the bar. PSG 4–3. Champions again — the first club to win it two years running since Real Madrid in 2018. Vitinha was man of the match. Arsenal's David Raya had kept nine clean sheets that season, equalling the record — and it still wasn't enough.

On the way: PSG finished 11th, beat Monaco 5–4 in the play-off, Chelsea 8–2, Liverpool 4–0 and Bayern 6–5 — including a 5–4 first leg in Paris, the highest-scoring semi-final in history. Nine goals in one night.

2025-26 · the season of goals

655 goals. A record.

Nobody had ever seen a season like it. Kylian Mbappé scored 15 — including a record 13 in the league phase and four in one game against Olympiacos with a hat-trick in 6 minutes 42 seconds. Barcelona beat Newcastle 7–2. Anthony Gordon scored four in one half in Baku. And Bodø/Glimt, from a Norwegian town north of the Arctic Circle, knocked out Inter — the previous year's finalists — to become the most northern club ever to reach the last 16.

Player of the Season: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG). Breakthrough of the season: Arda Güler (Real Madrid). Robert Lewandowski, 37, became the oldest player ever to score in a knockout game.

2026-27 · it has already begun

This season's road

The robot did the draw in Monaco on 27 August. The first matchday was 8–10 September — and PSG started their hunt for a THIRD straight title with a 6–1 win. Real Madrid beat Inter 2–1, Barcelona beat Feyenoord 5–1, Liverpool beat Atlético 2–1, Manchester United beat Sabah 4–0. And the new boys had a night to remember: Como — a 119-year-old Italian club by a lake, coached by Cesc Fàbregas, in the Champions League for the very first time — beat RB Leipzig 4–1.

Four debutants: Como, LASK of Austria, Viking of Norway, and Sabah of Azerbaijan, a club that only started in 2017. Missing this year: Chelsea, Tottenham, Juventus and AC Milan all failed to qualify. And no Messi or Ronaldo — their clubs in America and Saudi Arabia don't play in Europe.

Spot the newbies: from this season, a player making their very first Champions League appearance wears a little bright-blue DEBUT tab under the starball badge on their sleeve. Look for it on the TV close-ups.

Circle these nights: Arsenal v Real Madrid · Barcelona v Man City · PSG v Barcelona · Inter v Liverpool · Man United v Bayern · and little Como hosting PSG.

Meet the stars

YamalLamine Yamal · Barcelona · 19Youngest player ever to START a match, at 16. Scored on matchday 1 this season.

MbappéKylian Mbappé · Real Madrid · 27Last season's top scorer with 15 — a record 13 of them in the league phase.

HaalandErling Haaland · Man City · 26A goal every single game: 59 in 59. Once scored five in one match.

DouéDésiré Doué · PSG · 21Scored twice in the 2025 final aged 19 — then scored his penalty in the 2026 shootout.

ViníciusVinícius Júnior · Real Madrid · 26Scored the winner in the 2022 final AND scored in the 2024 final.

DowmanMax Dowman · Arsenal · 16The youngest player in the competition's history — he made his debut at 15.

✅

Decided certain

The final is on Saturday 5 June 2027 at the Metropolitano in Madrid — 6pm there, 9:30pm in Bengaluru. The league phase ends on 27 January. And this season's star ball is expected to be the LAST one made by adidas after more than 25 years — Nike is reported to be taking over next season.

❓

Not decided nobody knows

Can PSG win three in a row? Only Real Madrid have ever done it in the Champions League era (2016–18). Will Arsenal finally win one? Can Manuel Neuer, 40, pass Messi's 163 appearances? Will Haaland reach 70 goals? Fill in your answers after the final — and check them against next year's update of this book.

7 Chapter Seven

Big Ears & Other Secrets

Everything about the trophy — and the strangest true stories in the whole competition.

Bern, Switzerland · 1967

The cup with the giant ears

The trophy you see today was made in 1967 by a Swiss jeweller called Jürg Stadelmann. It took him 340 hours — and he had to finish it before his own wedding! It is solid silver, 73.5 cm tall and weighs about 7.5 kg. Fans everywhere call it the same thing in their own language: "Big Ears" — la Orejona in Spain, Henkelpott in Germany.

Why was a new one needed? Because Real Madrid had won the old one so many times that UEFA let them keep it forever. Then the rule became official: win it five times, or three years in a row, and the real trophy is yours to keep. Only five clubs ever managed it — Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Liverpool. Since 2009 UEFA keeps the original and winners get a full-size copy, so those five will be the only five for ever.

Look at the sleeve of a Real Madrid, Milan, Bayern, Liverpool, Barcelona or Ajax shirt in the Champions League: there's a special "badge of honour" with the number of times they've won it. Nobody else is allowed one.

Believe it or not — all true

The 1974 final was played TWICE. Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid drew 1–1, so everybody came back two days later and did it again. Bayern won the replay 4–0. Penalty shootouts were brought in after that.

A goalkeeper once saved FOUR penalties in a row in a final. Steaua Bucharest's Helmuth Duckadam stopped every single Barcelona kick in the 1986 shootout. They still call him "the Hero of Seville".

Nottingham Forest won it twice in a row (1979 and 1980) — and then, 25 years later, dropped all the way down to England's THIRD division. The only European champion ever to fall that far. They're back in the Premier League now.

Tiny Sheriff Tiraspol from Moldova beat Real Madrid in Madrid in 2021 — in their very first group stage. Real had 31 shots. Sheriff had 4. Sheriff won 2–1 with a volley in the 89th minute.

A goalkeeper headed a 98th-minute winner against Real Madrid this January. Benfica's Anatoliy Trubin ran up for a last free kick, headed it past Courtois, and knocked Real out of the top eight. His manager? José Mourinho, of course.

A defender once went in goal for a penalty shootout and won it. Ludogorets' keeper was sent off in 2014 with no subs left, so defender Cosmin Moți put on gloves he'd never worn before, scored his own penalty, saved two, and sent his club into the Champions League for the first time. They named a stand after him.

The fastest goal ever took 10 seconds. Roy Makaay scored for Bayern against Real Madrid in 2007 after just 10.12 seconds — and Real had kicked off!

The fastest hat-trick took 6 minutes 12 seconds. Mohamed Salah came off the bench for Liverpool at Rangers in 2022 and scored three in the 76th, 80th and 81st minutes.

Twelve goals in one match. Borussia Dortmund 8–4 Legia Warsaw, 2016. It was already 5–2 after half an hour.

Only three players have scored FIVE goals in one game: Messi (7–1 v Leverkusen, 2012), Luiz Adriano (2014) and Erling Haaland (7–0 v Leipzig, 2023 — and he was taken off after 63 minutes!).

The youngest player ever was 15. Arsenal's Max Dowman came on at Slavia Prague in November 2025 aged just 15 — the first 15-year-old in the competition's history. The oldest scorer, Pepe, scored for Porto aged 40. That's a 25-year gap between the two records! (And the youngest SCORER ever was 16: a Polish boy called Lubański, way back in 1963.)

The final with nobody there. In August 2020, because of the pandemic, the final in Lisbon was played in front of zero fans. Bayern beat PSG 1–0 with a Kingsley Coman header, and the only cheering came from the bench. It was the last of Bayern's eleven wins out of eleven.

The first woman to referee a men's Champions League match was Stéphanie Frappart of France — Juventus v Dynamo Kyiv, December 2020. She went on to referee at the men's World Cup too.

One goalkeeper scored THREE penalties against the same club — for three different teams. Hans-Jörg Butt scored against Juventus for Hamburg, for Leverkusen and for Bayern. Juventus must have been sick of him.

Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan travelled 22,388 km for their four away games in 2025-26 — more than halfway round the Earth. Real Madrid had to fly about 6,400 km just to play them.

Bayern Munich once won EVERY match in a season — 11 out of 11 in 2019-20, including an 8–2 win over Barcelona. Nobody else has ever done it.

The "trophy run over by a bus" story is real — but it wasn't Big Ears. In 2011 Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos dropped the Spanish cup off the top of the team bus, and the bus drove over it. Big Ears has only ever had a few small dents from celebrations.

The girls have one too. The Women's Champions League has its own trophy, its own anthem ("All unite… the time is now") and its own queens: Lyon have won it a record eight times, and their Norwegian striker Ada Hegerberg has scored more goals in it than anyone — nearly 70 — and won it six times. The newest champions are Barcelona, who beat Lyon 4–0 in Oslo in May 2026 — Ewa Pajor and Salma Paralluelo scored two each.