The Champions League is the biggest club tournament in European football. It consists of a group phase and a knockout round of sixteen.
The competition is contested by the champions of Europe’s biggest domestic leagues as well as those finishing second, third or fourth in their national championships. The top seven clubs in each of those groups qualify automatically, while the other qualifying places are awarded to the winners of four rounds of qualification that are based on association coefficients.
Before 2024-25, this involved three preliminary rounds that whittled down the field to eight or nine teams, and then a double-legged round of sixteen where the team with more goals over two legs – a process called aggregate goals – advances.
After the round of 16 the remaining clubs compete in the traditional format that features quarter-finals, semi-finals (both two legged) and then a final held at a venue selected prior to the season.
Despite the large number of big names to have won the Champions League, it is still a relatively elite competition. Real Madrid have won the most titles, 15 to date, and there are a number of other notable triumphs. These include Feyenoord’s 1969-70 victory, which saw them beat defending champions Milan, as well as Ajax’s triumph in the 1974-75 competition, which is still one of the greatest achievements in the history of the tournament. More recently, Liverpool’s comeback in the 2006-07 competition and Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Ajax in the 2012-13 contest have been seen as potential sensational performances.