Fifteen teams from across Scotland and England have tasted the success of winning a European competition, with Aberdeen among those who have triumphed across the continent.
11:17, 28 May 2026
Willie Miller captained the Dons to becoming the only Scottish side ever to win two European trophies
Willie Miller captained the Dons to becoming the only Scottish side ever to win two European trophies(Image: Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images)
British teams have reached the finals of all three European competitions this season for the first time, and two are revelling in the glory.
Aston Villa secured Europa League success by beating German outfit Freiburg in Istanbul last week as Unai Emery's incredible record in the competition continued.
And last night, Crystal Palace became the latest British side to join the list of European trophy winners after downing Spain's Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig to win the Conference League.
Arsenal could make it a hat-trick of British victories this weekend when they take on Champions League holders Paris St Germain in Budapest.
Fifteen teams from across Scotland and England have tasted the success of winning a European competition, with Aberdeen holding special bragging rights as the only team north of the border to win more than one trophy.
Here, the Press Association looks back at the British sides who have tasted European glory.
Aberdeen
Cup Winners' Cup – 1982-83
John Hewitt's goal against Real Madrid wrote the Reds into European football history
John Hewitt's goal against Real Madrid wrote the Reds into European football history(Image: Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images)
Sir Alex Ferguson's team were unstoppable in the early 1980s, and Bayern Munich knew just how lethal they could be when they were toppled on an epic night at Pittodrie.
But many wrote off the Dons heading into their clash with the mighty Real Madrid in Gothenburg.
John Hewitt however pulled off the most spectacular heroics by scoring an extra-time winner to secure the Reds' first ever European trophy.
The 2-1 victory was swiftly followed by a win in the Super Cup later that year against Hamburg, with Aberdeen still the only team from Scotland to win two European trophies.
Celtic and Rangers have come close, but neither could win their UEFA Cup finals in the 2000s, and the latter also failed to add to the collection in the 2022 Europa League final.
Arsenal
Cup Winners' Cup – 1993-94
The Gunners’ only previous European trophy came when Alan Smith's goal saw off Parma in the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup final, having won both domestic cups the previous season.
There have been some painful near misses since then, with a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League final in 2006 standing out among them.
But they could finally end their wait to get their hands on the big one this weekend when they take on a high-flying PSG side, who are looking to retain their crown after beating Inter Milan in last season's final.
Aston Villa
European Cup/Champions League – 1981-82
UEFA Cup/Europa League – 2025-26
When Villa beat Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup final, it made it six years in a row that an English side had been crowned European champions.
This season has brought more success as manager Unai Emery lifted the Europa League for the fifth time in his own career.
He has enjoyed remarkable success with Sevilla, but it was an epic performance from the Villans as they steamrolled Freiburg with some outstanding goals.
Celtic
European Cup/Champions League – 1966-67
Billy McNeill leading out his Celtic team in Lisbon
Billy McNeill leading out his Celtic team in Lisbon (Image: Getty Images)
Celtic became the first British club to win the European Cup when the 'Lisbon Lions' beat Inter Milan 2-1 in Portugal.
Jock Stein's side also became the first from Scotland to win any of the European trophies up for grabs, with chants celebrating the team still heard in the 67th minute at Parkhead each week.
Alessandro Mazzola scored an early penalty in the scorching Portuguese sun, but Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers struck back to secure glory.
Chelsea
European Cup/Champions League – 2011-12, 2020-21
UEFA Cup/Europa League – 2012-13, 2018-19
Conference League – 2024-25
Cup Winners' Cup – 1970-71, 1997-98
Chelsea were crowned European champions in 2012 under then-caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo, appointed two months before the final after Andre Villas-Boas was sacked.
An epic battle with Bayern Munich secured silverware after a dramatic penalty shoot out on the Germans' home turf.
Last season's success in the Conference League made Chelsea the first club to have won all three of UEFA’s current competitions.
But they will be on the outside looking in next season under Xabi Alonso after finishing 10th in the Premier League and missing out on European football.
The West London side had become the first ever Champions League holders to crash out in the group stage the following year, but made up for their failings by winning the Europa League against Benfica.
Bayern Munich then got their revenge in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup, and in similarly cruel circumstances by winning on penalties.
Crystal Palace
Conference League – 2025-26
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson lifts the trophy with team-mates after victory over Rayo Vallecano
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson lifts the trophy with team-mates after victory over Rayo Vallecano(Image: Adam Davy/PA Wire)
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal secured a first European trophy – and qualification for the Europa League, from which they had been excluded this season.
Their latest success comes just 12 months after the club won its first ever major trophy, beating Manchester City to win last season's FA Cup.
Everton
Cup Winners' Cup – 1984-85
The Toffees followed their 1984 FA Cup win by beating Rapid Vienna 3-1 to win the now defunct Cup Winners' Cup.
They were denied a return to Europe he following season by England's ban following the Heysel disaster.
But they've only since gone as far as the last 16 in the UEFA Cup on two occasions, losing to Fiorentina in 2008 and Dynamo Kiev in 2015.
Ipswich
UEFA Cup/Europa League – 1980-81
Ipswich's eighth European campaign ended in success in 1981 as they beat AZ Alkmaar 5-4 in a two-legged final, winning 3-0 at Portman Road before hanging on with a 4-2 defeat in the Netherlands.
Aberdeen fans of a certain age will remember the Tractor Boys well, with Ferguson's men having dumped them out of the European Cup the following season.
It had looked a daunting task against the UEFA Cup winners, but two stunning performances sent the Dons through before they crashed out against Hamburg.
Liverpool
European Cup/Champions League – 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1983-84, 2004-05, 2018-19
UEFA Cup/Europa League – 1972-73, 1975-76, 2000-01
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard lifts the Champions League trophy after the Miracle of Istanbul
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard lifts the Champions League trophy after the Miracle of Istanbul(Image: Phil Noble/PA Wire)
Comfortably the most successful British club in European competition, Liverpool piled up trophies during the 1970s and early 1980s until the Heysel disaster before the 1985 European Cup final and the subsequent ban on English clubs in Europe.
Stars from Scotland including Kenny Dalgiesh, Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness were among the sides that tasted glory before the ban.
Gerard Houlier's treble winners picked up the UEFA Cup in 2001 in one of the last finals to be decided by the golden goal rule, beating Alaves of Spain 5-4 in Dortmund.
Then the European Cup came home in arguably the greatest final of all time, as Rafael Benitez's men pulled off a miracle in Istanbul.
3-0 down at half-time, the Reds roared back with three goals in six minutes before Jerzy Dudek's penalty shootout heroics won a fifth European Cup for Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp then made it six with a 2-0 win over Tottenham in 2019, as Mo Salah and Divock Origi erased the pain of missing out on the Premier League title by making it a night to remember in Madrid.
Manchester City
European Cup/Champions League – 2022-23
Cup Winners' Cup – 1969-70
Rodri’s strike against Inter Milan in Istanbul saw Pep Guardiola’s City achieve their primary goal in Europe and become only the second English side – after rivals United – to win the treble.
But they had experienced a painful near miss just two years earlier when Chelsea wrapped up their second Champions League title in Portugal.
Their Cup Winners' Cup success came against a team many will struggle to remember, as they beat Polish outfit Górnik Zabrze 2-1 in Vienna.
Manchester United
European Cup/Champions League – 1967-68, 1998-99, 2007-08
UEFA Cup/Europa League – 2016-17
Cup Winners’ Cup – 1990-91
Manchester United's Ole Gunner Solskjaer's celebrates after scoring his winning goal deep into injury time
Manchester United's Ole Gunner Solskjaer's celebrates after scoring his winning goal deep into injury time(Image: Mirrorpix)
United were the first English club to lift the European Cup, scoring three goals in seven minutes during extra time to brush aside Benfica 4-1, just a year after Celtic's triumph in Lisbon.
But everyone remembers that night in Barcelona, especially Aberdeen fans as their legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson led a comeback for the ages.
1-0 down with mere minutes to go, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær came off the bench and scored a quickfire double to topple Bayern Munich.
It secured a famous treble for Ferguson, and he would eventually gain a second Champions League with United when they denied Chelsea in the pouring Moscow rain, with John Terry's slip the defining image of that shootout.
Jose Mourinho's only European trophy with an English club came while at United, as Paul Pogba and Henrik Mkhitaryan beat Ajax in Stockholm.
Nottingham Forest
European Cup/Champions League – 1978-79, 1979-80
Five years after Brian Clough took over at a then-second division Nottingham Forest, he and Peter Taylor had made them two-time European champions in one of football’s most remarkable stories.
A 1-0 win over Malmö in Munich wrapped up the first of their back-to-back successes, with Hamburg toppled in Madrid a year later.
They came one game away from a first Europa League final this century, but were denied by Aston Villa who ran riot in front of goal at Villa Park, with Scotland's John McGinn netting twice to send them en route to Istanbul.
Rangers
Cup Winners' Cup – 1971-72
Rangers joined their Old Firm rivals as European winners when Willie Johnston’s brace secured a 3-2 win over Dynamo Moscow at the Nou Camp.
Their run included beating Sporting Lisbon on away goals after the referee erroneously played a penalty shoot-out, which was won by Sporting.
Two finals in the Europa League have since followed, but Zenit St Petersburg dashed their hopes in Manchester and Glasner, victorious with Crystal Palace last night, led Eintracht Frankfurt to victory on penalties in 2022.
Tottenham
UEFA Cup/Europa League – 1971-72, 1983-84, 2024-25
Cup Winners' Cup – 1962-63
Spurs came away victorious from their Europa League final clash with Manchester United
Spurs came away victorious from their Europa League final clash with Manchester United(Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
Tottenham lost in their only Champions League final appearance, beaten by Liverpool in 2019, but are three-time winners of the UEFA Cup/Europa League.
Most recently they beat Manchester United in last season's final in what would turn out to be former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou's final game in charge.
One of two teams to win European silverware the year after Aberdeen's victory over Real Madrid, Spurs downed Anderlecht on penalties to win the UEFA Cup.
West Ham
Conference League – 2022-23
Cup Winners' Cup – 1964-65
Winners of the Cup Winners' Cup back in 1965, West Ham lifted the Conference League trophy in the competition’s second season as David Moyes’ side beat Fiorentina 2-1.
The Scot has always been animated on the touchline, but scenes of him sprinting down the touchline and having an emotional moment with his father stuck with many watching north of the border.
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Declan Rice lifted the trophy that night and will be looking to help steer Arsenal to their first ever Champions League success on Saturday evening.