ONLY once in the history of European club competition has a single country won three trophies in a season – Italy in 1989-90 when AC Milan successfully defended the European Cup, Juventus won the UEFA Cup and Sampdoria lifted the European Cup-Winners’ Cup. This unique treble happened at a time when Italian football was the most envied across the continent. Italy was the place all the major stars headed for – look at the _Ballon d’Or_ voting for 1990 and 10 of the top 23 players were employed by Serie A clubs. Players like Marco Van Basten, Diego Maradona and Jürgen Klinsmann were among the galaxy of stars who had been lured to the most glamorous football league in the world. The bubble burst, of course, but it was good while it lasted.
Premier League clubs have been collecting European trophies in recent times and since 2011, 12 have been won by eight different clubs. There is a good argument to say that the frequency of success underlines the strength in depth of the Premier League; Crystal Palace became the 14th club from the Premier League’s 2026-27 constitution to win a European prize, that’s an impressive 70%. No other league can match this:
**Percentage of clubs with European honours**
1: Premier League, 70%2: Serie A, 45%3: Bundesliga, 39%4: La Liga, 35%5: Scottish Premiership, 33%\*6: Eredivisie, 17%7: Portuguese Primeira, 17%8: Ligue 1, 17%.
\*Scottish Premiership comprises 12 clubs.
While 14 is an impressive figure, it should be noted that 13 of these clubs had won their first European trophies by 1981, the only new winner since then has been Palace. Since English clubs were allowed back into European competition in 1990, they have won 18 trophies in 35 years. Prior to that, they won 23 in the period from 1963 to 1984. The top prize, now called the Champions League, has been won eight times in that compared to seven. The timeframe from 1977 to 1984 was a golden age for English clubs with three clubs (Liverpool, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest), winning seven European Cups. In the modern era, the financial clout of the Premier has seen its clubs threaten to dominate at times and if Arsenal manage to beat Paris Saint-Germain, it will be the Premier’s fourth success in eight finals. If European specialists Real Madrid are not in the final, English clubs have a chance.
Some critics might say that with the Premier’s competitive advantages, regular success is to be expected, but there are clubs around Europe who are experienced campaigners and the Champions League, for example, is seen as a prerequisite to maintain momentum at those clubs. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are two such clubs. Premier clubs have, to a large degree, edged into that bracket and a poor showing in the competition can cost a manager his job. Champions League success adds to the credibility of a club, that’s why the 2026 final is so important to Arsenal. They would become the seventh English club to win the competition, which will be another feather in the cap for the Premier League.
**Number of Champions League winners from each country:**
1: England, 6 (Manchester United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester City)2: Germany, 3 (Bayern Munich, Hamburg, Borussia Dortmund)3: Italy, 3 (AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus)4: Netherlands, 3 (Feyenoord, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven)5: Portugal, 2 (Benfica, Porto)
6: France, 2 (Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain).
The biggest clubs from English football never to win in Europe include Sunderland (who return in 2026-27 for the first time since 1973-74), Birmingham City (who undoubtedly crave it) and other sizeable names like Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday and their neighbours, Sheffield United.
**Two trophies in a season for English clubs**
1968: Leeds United (Fairs) and Manchester United (EC)1970: Arsenal (Fairs) and Manchester City (ECWC)1971: Chelsea (ECWC) and Leeds United (Fairs)1981: Ipswich Town (UEFA) and Liverpool (EC)1984: Liverpool (EC) and Tottenham Hotspur (UEFA)2019: Chelsea (EUR) and Liverpool (CL)2023: Manchester City (CL) and West Ham United (CON)2025: Chelsea (CON) and Tottenham Hotspur (EUR)
2026: Aston Villa (EUR) and Crystal Palace (CON)
Arsenal are, unquestionably, one of the biggest names never to win the Champions League. Other in this category include Atlético Madrid, Roma, Schalke 04, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Eintracht Frankfurt and Napoli. For some, the opportunity to be European champions will never come – in order to compete at that level, you have to qualify for the competition in the first place and that seems unlikely for so many clubs who may be big names but not particularly big teams. UEFA’s ambition of “European football for all” may well be achievable, but having access to success is another, more complex, issue.
Game of the People was founded in 2012 and is ranked among the 100 best football websites by various sources. The site consistently wins awards for its work, across a broad range of subjects. [View all posts by Neil Fredrik Jensen](https://gameofthepeople.com/author/georgefjord/)