There was a period when La Decima, Real Madrid’s 10th Champions League title, was an obsession that lasted about a decade. The man who secured that coveted title for Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, also led them to their 15th, and as they enter the next season, they are favored to win their 16th. Ancelotti’s trio of victories bookend Zinedine Zidane’s hat-trick of triumphs, and Real Madrid has won six of the last eleven finals, mirroring their dominance from 1956 to 1966. This is astonishing, even for a club of their stature, wealth, and the caliber of players they’ve had in the last decade. It’s worth noting that at the start of Real’s modern golden era, they were often seen as Spain’s second-best team, with Barcelona frequently winning LaLiga. Pep Guardiola’s philosophy was dominant in global football, and Barcelona had Lionel Messi, who was not only more talented than Cristiano Ronaldo but also two years younger. If any team seemed likely to win the Champions League six times in eleven seasons, it was Barcelona.
Instead, since 2014, Real Madrid has claimed six titles, while Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City have each won one. Real Madrid has established a dynasty, with constants like Dani Carvajal and Luka Modric, and now they are showing they can win without Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sergio Ramos, with a new generation including Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham believing Champions League titles are Real’s birthright.
Yet, seen in isolation, there were valid reasons to believe at least three of the other recent winners could have repeated their success: Barcelona had Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez, perhaps the best forward line ever, in 2015; Bayern Munich won every Champions League game, including an emphatic 8-2 against Barcelona in 2019-20; and City achieved their own treble in 2022-23. None of these teams have backed up their European success. While it’s too early to say Guardiola’s City won’t reach such heights again, recent history suggests only Real Madrid is capable of sustained dominance.
Barcelona’s decline has been the most pronounced. Messi’s last Champions League victory came when he was just 28. A fortune was squandered on players like Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Miralem Pjanic, and Clement Lenglet, alongside extravagant contracts. In contrast, Real Madrid, despite missteps with Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic, have otherwise made brilliant acquisitions, identifying future Galacticos early, like Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, with Endrick potentially the next star. They’ve invested heavily in young talents like Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurelien Tchouameni, found a bargain in Fede Valverde, and made shrewd free transfers with Antonio Rudiger and David Alaba. The allure of Real Madrid remains potent; players like Kylian Mbappe and Alphonso Davies may follow suit.
Losing players like Davies and Alaba could weaken Bayern. Rudiger was a 2021 winner with Chelsea, and the call of Real Madrid can be irresistible. Although Bayern in 2020 looked poised for dominance, they’ve shown that sometimes a team’s peak is brief, like Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp. Real Madrid’s peak has lasted eleven seasons, marked by dramatic comebacks and final victories.
This makes Real Madrid the antithesis of other teams that struggle to win the Champions League. Manchester City has experienced numerous heartbreaking eliminations under Guardiola, managing only one European title in eight seasons despite domestic success. Paris Saint-Germain has faced hubristic failures, and Juventus, another victim of Real in finals, regressed after acquiring Ronaldo from Real. Liverpool, arguably the second-best Champions League team during Real’s 21st-century supremacy, reached three finals but found themselves in the Europa League last season, and Klopp is gone. With Bayern in transition and other traditional powers stumbling, Real Madrid might face less formidable opposition in future seasons, though they may still need their trademark comebacks in knockout ties.
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Even as Toni Kroos departs, Luka Modric stays for another year, with a potential vacancy for another elite playmaker soon. Otherwise, Real Madrid is enviably well-positioned for the future.
The present has been impressive, if not their greatest vintage. They have only lost two games this season, both to Atletico Madrid, and remained unbeaten in the Champions League, another reason why they were the eventual, and ultimate, winners.
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