The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious club football competition in the world. It is an annual event that brings together the best teams in Europe. Organized by UEFA, the event was popular as the European Cup before it changed its name in 1992.
According to the data by www.uebas.net, every final of the UEFA Champions League in the last couple of years has had millions of viewers. What’s interesting is that the event is very popular even outside of Europe. This is especially true for the U.S., where more and more people are interested in soccer.
Nowadays, the Champions League usually includes 32 teams that are divided into 8 groups. The winners and runners-up advance to the knock-out phase, which ends with a final. In the end, the UCL winners will receive a slot for the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, and next year’s Champions League.
Are you curious to learn more about the popularity of each UCL Final in the last couple of years? If so, the information below includes all finals between 2016 and 2022.
Season 2016-2017: Juventus vs Real Madrid – 1:4
Season 2016- 2017 was enticing, to say the least. The UCL Final was in Cardiff, and it allowed us to watch the two best teams at the time. “Juventus looked motivated to win their first UCL trophy in a while, but the team had a mountain to climb. Even though Juve played really good before this match, Ream Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo were on another level”, said Kristiyan, the football expert from Nostrabet.
Prior to this match, Juve eliminated Porto, Barcelona, and Monaco. As for Real Madrid, the team had to go through Napoli, Bayern Munich, and Atletico Madrid. Los Blancos had a solid start after Ronaldo scored the first goal. That said, Mandzukic equalized the result just a couple of minutes later.
The first half ended in a draw, but Real Madrid was clearly better in the second one. Casemiro gave the Spanish club the lead, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second goal just three minutes after that. In the end, Asensio scored the 4th goal for Real, which guaranteed the team’s trophy. The final had around 87M live viewers, making it one of the year’s biggest sports events.Season 2017-2018: Real Madrid vs Liverpool – 3:1
With more than 105M live viewers, Real Madrid and football fans worldwide will remember 26 May 2018 because this was the day when Los Blancos won their 13th title. Following the success last year, Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of his team had the chance to win the UEFA Champions League for the third consecutive time. However, instead of playing against Juve, Los Blancos had to go up against Liverpool.
The English club had an arduous journey to the final because it had to play against some of the best in Europe. It all started with PSG, followed by Juventus and Bayern Munich. As for Real Madrid, the team eliminated Porto, Manchester City, and Roma.
The Spanish club took the lead in the final after Benzema scored in the second half. However, Liverpool quickly bounced back when Mane equalized the result. Fortunately for Benzema and the rest, Bale, who entered as a substitute, scored two goals, allowing the team to win.
Despite winning the trophy for the third consecutive time, this was the last game for Cristiano Ronaldo because he left the club shortly after that.
Season 2018-2019: Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool – 0:2
Despite the fact that this match had “just” 59M live viewers, fans will remember the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League final because it put together two teams from England. Tottenham Hotspur got the unique opportunity to win the event because this was the first time it reached the big final. Unfortunately, Liverpool was more motivated and deserved the 0:2 victory.
Surprisingly, Tottenham eliminated Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax before going up against the Reds. Speaking of the devil, Liverpool was eager to win the most prestigious club football competition after losing the final last year against Real Madrid. Hence, the team won against Bayern Munich, Porto, and Barcelona.
In terms of the UEFA Champions League final itself, the Reds controlled the match. Liverpool scored an early goal just 2 minutes after the start following a penalty from Salah. The second goal came just three minutes before the game ended, and it guaranteed the team’s trophy. This was Liverpool’s first UCL victory since 2005, when the team did a miracle by defeating Milan.
Season 2019-2020: PSG vs Bayern Munich – 0:1
Estádio da Luz in Lisbon allowed us to watch one of the most anticipated UCL Finals in the last couple of years. The multi-million dollar selection of PSG finally got the chance to win the biggest club football event in the world. Sadly, the French team failed because around 79M people witnessed Bayern Munich becoming the new UCL Champion.This was PSG’s first UCL final appearance, whereas Bayern Munich had more than 10 matches under their belt. Der FCB’s last trophy was in 2013, but after the team’s excellent performance this year, it won the event for the 6th time.
Prior to this match, PSG eliminated Borrusia Dortmund, Atalanta and RB Leipzig. Bayern’s schedule was more complicated because the team had to battle against Chelsea, Barcelona, and Lyon.
In the final, Bayern scored the only goal in the match 59 minutes after the start. Unlike previous UCL Finals, this one was not that exciting and didn’t live up to expectations.
Season 2020-2021: Manchester City vs Chelsea – 0:1
Following the English final two years ago, it was time for another epic match. This time, Manchester City and Chelsea played in front of around 48M live viewers worldwide. Even though City was the big favourite, the team couldn’t win the match and lost after Chelsea scored one goal.
Surprisingly, City did not have any UCL Finals under its belt before this game. As for Chelsea, the club lost a final in 2008 and won in 2012. Fortunately, after it eliminated Atletico Madrid, Porto, and Real Madrid, the Blues won their second UCL trophy and the last one under Roman Abramovich’s reign.
Although City was the favourite, the team couldn’t defeat its opponents after conceding a goal in the first half. Havertz gave Chelsea the lead 42 minutes after the start, which was enough to win.
Season 2021-2022: Liverpool – Real Madrid – 0:1
This year’s UCL Final had around 87M live viewers. This shouldn’t be a surprise because it was time for a rematch following the 2017-2018 final in Kyiv. Since CR7 was no longer a part of Real Madrid, Liverpool was eager to win the trophy following its success in 2019. Sadly, the Red were unlucky and lost yet another UCL Final.
The English club defeated Inter Milan, Benfica, and Villarreal before securing a slot in the final. As for Real Madrid, the Spanish powerhouse went through Paris Saint-Germain, followed by Chelsea and Manchester City.
Even though Real Madrid won after scoring just one goal, the match was incredibly fun to watch. We saw tons of action from the get-go, as both teams were eager to win. Even though Liverpool was the more aggressive out of the two and had a total of 23 shots vs 3 for Real, the Spanish club won yet another UCL final.
Predictions for the 2022-2023 season
The current season of the UEFA Champions League is not over yet, so we don’t know which team will win. That said, Manchester City with Erling Haaland is the big favourite because the 22-year-old Norwegian superstar has had an amazing season. Of course, we are yet to see whether he will be able to help City win its first UCL trophy.
