Top five most successful football clubs in the world

The number of trophies these teams have won is astonishing.

Regardless of various narratives regarding several facets of football, the eventual aim for all clubs is to win trophies. Teams undergo tumultuous phases, rebuild their squads numerous times, make a jump forward and then are pegged a couple of steps behind. All of it is to achieve the solitary goal of bagging silverware at the end of a season. There are numerous iconic football clubs across the globe but not all of them break into the list of the top five most successful ones in terms of major, recognizable trophies that they have claimed so far. In this article, we enlighten you about them.

5. Atletico Penarol – 108 trophies

Uruguayan club Atletico Penarol has 108 trophies to their name, as they have been immensely dominant in their domestic competition. More importantly, they have never been relegated to the second division ever since making their way into the league 120 years ago in 1900. Penarol have 12 Pre Liberation league titles, 11 continental championships and three Intercontinental Cups (1961, 1962, 1982) to their name.

An interesting trivia for the followers of Indian football could be that Penarol had even emerged victorious in the IFA Shield in 1985. They defeated Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in the final encounter of the renowned tournament. Also, Atletico Penarol were named as the South American Club of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics in 2009, adding another feather to their cap.

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4. Club Nacional de Football – 114 trophies

Club Nacinol de Football most recently triumphed over the Primera Division in 2019. They even won the Supercopa Uruguaya last year and have eight Liguilla, 17 Torneo de Honor, eight Copa Competencia, seven Copa de Honor and three Liga Major titles amidst other honours to their name.

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics hailed them as the best Uruguayan team of the first decade of this millennia, thus signifying that Nacinol have managed to consistently remain up in the charts despite the club being formed 121 years ago. They engage in an electrifying rivalry with Penarol, and the duo look set to continue to dominate the country’s footballing landscape in the coming years too.

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3. Celtic FC – 116 trophies

Scottish giants Celtic FC have been a force to reckon with in their topmost football league for a long period of time now. They have won three Scottish Premiership for four consecutive seasons now. Having played their first game in 1888, the club currently has 110 titles to their name. They are the two-time defending champions of the Scottish League Championship, having won it 51 times in their history.

Furthermore, Celtic triumphed over the Scottish Cup on 39 occasions and have secured the League Cup on 19 instances including the 2019-20 campaign. In 1967, Celtic became the first British club to attain the European club as they defeated Internazionale Milan by 2-1 in the final. Remarkably, the Bhoys have managed to sustain their resounding success in recent times too.

2. Rangers – 118 trophies

Rangers FC’s legacy in terms of their collection of trophies is arguably unmatched in Europe, which is statistically evident too. They have added 118 silverwares to the shelf and have completed the treble of winning the trio of League Title, Scottish Cup and the League Cup in the same season on seven instances. Most recently, they achieved this feat in 2002-03.

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1. Al Ahly SC – 149 trophies

Al Ahly SC is an Egyptian club that has claimed scores of acclaimed trophies over the years. Founded in 1907, their record has been peerless in the Egyptian Premier League and the Egypt Cup. They have been victorious in the Cairo League on 17 occasions and secured the Sultain Hussein Cup seven times. Al Ahly SC also have eight CAF Champions League shields in their cabinet. The El Shayateen El Homr have claimed the CAF Super Cup on six occurrences too. They have been a thoroughly consistent and increasingly dominant club, particularly in African football.

Al Ahly had won the bronze medal in the FIFA Club World Cup of 2006 whereas they were the victors in the CAF Confederation Cup in 2014. Overall, their record and honours place them at the very top of this list. It thus rounds off an article that highlighted a few of the most successful football clubs in the world that are away from the mainstream public glare more often than not. The stats were picked from Global Times.

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