Real Madrid have appeared in and won the most Champions League in the competition’s history, but it hasn’t always been a happy occasion.

Real Madrid are indelibly linked to the Champions League. European football at the highest level is etched into the very fabric of the club, alongside the crown on their badge on an all-white kit. When the idealistic Gabriel Hanot came up with the idea of a European Cup, where the best football teams on the continent were pitted against one another, in the mid-1950s, not everyone was so willing to participate.

The English Football Association infamously banned all its clubs from taking part. But Madrid embraced the tournament and won its first five editions. Real’s immediate pedigree in the biggest club competition ensured that FIFA named them ‘the Best Club of the 20th Century’. The precedent for European domination was set in black and white and continues in the modern day of 4K. Here is a look back at Real Madrid’s performance in every Champions League final.

Real Madrid’s Record in Champions League Finals

Season
Result
Venue
Attendance

1955/56
Real Madrid 4-3 Reims
Parc des Princes
38,239

1956/57
Real Madrid 2-0 Fiorentina
Santiago Bernabeu
124,000

1957/58
Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan
Heysel Stadium
67,000

1958/59
Real Madrid 2-0 Reims
Neckarstadion
72,000

1959/60
Real Madrid 7-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Hampden Park

1961/62
Benfica 5-3 Real Madrid
Olympisch Stadion
61,257

1963/64
Inter Milan 3-1 Real Madrid
Praterstadion
71,333

1965/66
Real Madrid 2-1 Partizan
Heysel Stadium
46,745

1980/81
Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
Parc des Princes
48,360

1997/98
Juventus 0-1 Real Madrid
Amsterdam Arena
48,500

1999/00
Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia
Stade de France
80,000

2001/02
Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Real Madrid
Hampden Park
50,499

2013/14
Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid
Estadio da Luz
60,976

2015/16
Real Madrid 1-1 (5-3 pens) Atletico Madrid
San Siro
71,942

2016/17
Juventus 1-4 Real Madrid
Millennium Stadium
65,842

2017/18
Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool
NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium
61,561

2021/22
Liverpool 0-1 Real Madrid
Stade de France
75,000

2023/24
Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid
Wembley Stadium
86,212

Real Madrid vs Reims

13th June 1956

Real Madrid’s unprecedented reign as the ‘Kings of Europe’ can be traced back to one figure, Alfredo Di Stefano. An all-rounder who inspired such widespread admiration that his contemporaries regularly rated him higher than Pele, the omnipresent Argentine was the sun around which Madrid’s star additions orbited.

It was fitting – and predictable – that Di Stefano should be the one to begin Madrid’s fightback in the inaugural European Cup final against French side Reims. After falling 2-0 down inside the opening 10 minutes, Di Stefano halved the deficit before the criminally underrated Hector Rial levelled the score. Centre-back Marquitos ignored cries from his teammates to charge forward and fire Madrid into a lead they would not relinquish.

Match Details

Result
Real Madrid 4-3 Reims

Venue
Parc des Princes

Attendance
38,239

Real Madrid scorers
Alfredo Di Stefano (14′), Hector Rial (30′, 79′), Marquitos (67′)

Reims scorers
Michel Leblond (6′), Jean Templin (10′), Michel Hidalgo (62′)

Real Madrid vs Fiorentina

30th May 1957

During Real Madrid’s golden sequence of five consecutive European Cups, they only won two of the 10 domestic trophies available. But in 1956/57, Madrid were imperious on all fronts, winning domestically and abroad with swagger.

The capital outfit swatted aside Manchester United in the semi-finals and left a young Bobby Charlton, who would go on to become one of the club’s greatest players of all time but watched the first leg from the stands, thinking: “These people just aren’t human.” Fiorentina goalkeeper Giuliano Sarti produced a divine display of his own to keep the final goalless until Alfredo Di Stefano converted a second-half penalty and Paco Gento completed the victory with a delightful chip.

Match Details

Result
Real Madrid 2-0 Fiorentina

Venue
Santiago Bernabeu

Attendance
124,000

Real Madrid scorers
Alfredo Di Stefano (69′ pen), Paco Gento (75′)

Fiorentina scorers
N/A

Real Madrid vs AC Milan

28th May 1958

Paco Gento had a lot of golden memories to choose from when considering the greatest moment of his trophy-laden career. After sifting through his 12 La Liga titles and six European Cups – both record hauls for a single player – the jet-heeled winger settled upon the 1958 final against AC Milan as his peak.

The Italian side, who would go on to claim the trophy five years later, twice took the lead, capitalising upon the nerves laced through a Madrid squad expected to effortlessly complete a hat-trick of European crowns. Gento rose above the tension to lash an extra-time winner into the bottom corner. “Everyone was relieved as much as delighted,” he later reflected.

Match Details

Result
Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan

Venue
Heysel Stadium

Attendance

Real Madrid scorers
Alfredo Di Stefano (74′), Hector Rial (79′), Paco Gento (107′)

AC Milan scorers
Pepe Schiaffino (59′), Ernesto Grillo (77′)

Real Madrid vs Reims

3rd June 1959

After Real Madrid lined up against Reims in the first European Cup final, they left with the big-eared trophy and the French club’s best player. Within months of the 1956 showpiece, Raymond Kopa was lining up in all-white. The dainty playmaker may have left Champagne country, but the fizz continued to flow as Madrid racked up the silverware.

Kopa was capable of spell-binding moments, which were recognised with his triumph in the 1957 Ballon d’Or vote. But he didn’t produce his best display against his former employers in the following year’s European final. Enrique Mateos gave Madrid an early lead before Di Stefano underscored why he would win the 1958 Ballon d’Or with a game-sealing second-half goal.

Match Details

Result
Real Madrid 2-0 Reims

Venue
Neckarstadion

Attendance
72,000

Real Madrid scorers
Enrique Mateos (1′), Alfredo Di Stefano (47′)

Reims scorers
N/A

Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt

18th May 1960

No match in Real Madrid’s long, illustrious history is mythologised to the same extent as the 1960 European Cup final. Brazilian winger Canario hailed the 7-3 romp against Eintracht Frankfurt as the “best game” of Madrid’s golden era, while Ferenc Puskas described it as “some kind of footballing perfection”.

BBC Scotland used to show the match at Christmas for years. There was simply no better example of vibrant football committed to film. Richard Kress gave Frankfurt a surprise lead before Di Stefano – who else? – jolted Madrid out of their stupor with a quick-fire brace. Puskas racked up four goals while Di Stefano completed his hat-trick. A third of every hat-trick ever scored in a European final was plundered on that unforgettable night at Hampden Park.