Football is the world’s most popular and richest sport. More than 200 countries are officially registered with FIFA. The sport is popular all around the world, but the best for the game can be seen in Europe.
Countries like England, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, etc. have marketed the sport very well and have fans all around the world.
In this article, we will be seeing who are the top ten best football clubs in the world. For this, we would be considering the club’s overall history, recent history (Since 2010), and fan following.
Please note that we ourselves are football fans, hence we know the importance of every club. The clubs in this article will not be in any specific order, but just 10 clubs that we think are above the rest.
Real Madrid CF
Founded in 1902, The Spanish Giants Real Madrid can be argued by many as the best football club in the world. Los Blancos as they are known have history and fan following on their side.
The club has never slipped out of relevance and is one of the few clubs in the world to never be relegated from the top flight. Real Madrid has dominated in Spain and Europe and has the most Champions League trophies to their name.
Their biggest bragging right for Real Madrid would be being voted the club of the 20th century.
| Name of the Club | Real Madrid CF |
| Nickname | Los Blancos, Los Merengues |
| Stadium | Estadio Santiago Bernabéu |
| Country | Spain |
| League Titles won (La Liga) | 34 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 13 |
| Rivals | Barcelona, Atlético Madrid |
| Some Noteworthy players | Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul, Alfredo di Stefano, Sergio Ramos |
FC Barcelona
Another Spanish Giant which is part of this Elite list would be FC Barcelona. They are the arch-nemesis of Real Madrid and have established themselves as one of the best clubs in the 21st century.
The ‘Mes Que Un Club’ was founded in 1899 and has been the voice of the Catalan region in Spain. They have a record 75 domestic titles to their name which shows their class.
| Name of the Club | FC Barcelona |
| Nickname | Barça, Blaugrana |
| Stadium | Camp Nou |
| Country | Spain |
| League Titles won (La Liga) | 26 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 5 |
| Rivals | Real Madrid, Espanyol |
| Some Noteworthy players | Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, Johan Cruyff, Andrés Iniesta |
FC Bayern Munich
Founded in 1900, Bayern Munich is argued as the best football club in the world by many Germans. Bayern Munich has the most number of titles in Germany. They are third in terms of European titles, behind only AC Milan and Real Madrid.
The Bavarians have dominated the German league so much that most fans now call it “Bayernliga.” They have won the last 9 Bundesliga titles (as of December 2021) and are one of the favorites in Europe.
| Name of the Club | FC Bayern Munich |
| Nickname | Beyern, Die Rot |
| Stadium | Allianz Arena |
| Country | Germany |
| League Titles won (Bundesliga) | 31 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 6 |
| Rivals | Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Nürnberg |
| Some Noteworthy players | Robert Lewandowski, Franz Beckenbauer, Manuel Neuer, Gerd Müller |
Manchester United
Manchester United is arguably the club with the largest fan following all around the world. The Manchester United brand is one of the largest brands in the global market.
They were founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR F.C. before being rebranded as Manchester United FC in 1902. The Red Devils have the most number of titles in England and dominated the region between 1990-2010 under Sir Alex Ferguson.
6th February 1958 is the darkest day in the club’s history. Most of the first team players were killed in a plane crash on that fateful day. United was returning from a European game in Munich when the incident occurred.
| Name of the Club | Manchester United |
| Nickname | The Red Devils |
| Stadium | Old Trafford |
| Country | England |
| League Titles won (Premier League/English first division) | 20 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 3 |
| Rivals | Liverpool, Manchester City |
| Some Noteworthy players | Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, George Best |
Liverpool FC
Along with Manchester United, Liverpool stands out as one of the biggest clubs in England. Founded in 1892, the Reds have been ever-present in the domestic and the European circuit.
Liverpool is one of the most valuable and widely supported clubs in the world. One of their biggest claims to fame has been their club anthem. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is one of the most famous anthems in the whole world. And it gives goosebumps when it’s sung at Anfield.
| Name of the Club | Liverpool |
| Nickname | The Reds |
| Stadium | Anfield |
| Country | England |
| League Titles won (Premier League/English first division) | 19 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 6 |
| Rivals | Manchester United, Everton |
| Some Noteworthy players | Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah, Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush |
AC Milan
The Italian club was arguably one of the best football clubs in the world in the 1980s and the 1990s. Founded in 1899, AC Milan dominated European football and soon became one of the most feared clubs in Europe.
AC Milan is only second to Real Madrid in the number of European Cups won. Their local derby with Inter Milan is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest derby in football. To add to this, Milan has a good fan following and is one of the wealthiest clubs in the world.
| Name of the Club | AC Milan |
| Nickname | The Rossoneri, Il Diavolo |
| Stadium | San Siro |
| Country | Italy |
| League Titles won (Serie A) | 18 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 7 |
| Rivals | Inter Milan, Juventus |
| Some Noteworthy players | Kakà, Dida, Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi |
Inter Milan
Milan’s other big claim to fame is Internazionale. Founded in 1908, Football Club Internazionale Milano or better known as Inter Milan is another powerhouse in Italian and European football.
Though Inter has not been as successful as their rivals on the European stage, they have had a better record in Italy. As of 2019, Inter Milan has the highest home game attendance in Italy and the sixth-highest attendance in Europe. This shows how much fanfare the Italian Giant garners.
| Name of the Club | Inter Milan |
| Nickname | The Nerazzurri, La Beneamata |
| Stadium | San Siro |
| Country | Italy |
| League Titles won (Serie A) | 19 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 3 |
| Rivals | AC Milan, Juventus |
| Some Noteworthy players | Javier Zanetti, Giuseppe Meazza, Julio Cesar |
Juventus FC
The Turin-based football club was founded in 1879 and is the most successful club in Italy. Just like their Italian rivals, Juventus have been ever-present in the Italian Standings throughout.
On the European stage, Juventus have suffered a lot of heartbreaks. The Old Lady have lost the finals of the UEFA Champions League seven times. With their most recent loss coming in the 2016/17 season. In Italy, their trophy cabinet is second to none.
The 2006-07 season was a black mark on their history as they were relegated and stripped of two Scudettos following a match-fixing scandal.
| Name of the Club | Juventus |
| Nickname | The Old Lady, Le Zebre |
| Stadium | Juventus Stadium |
| Country | Italy |
| League Titles won (Serie A) | 36 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 2 |
| Rivals | AC Milan, Inter Milan, Napoli |
| Some Noteworthy players | Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro del Piero, Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo |
AFC Ajax
Ajax is statistically the best club from the Netherlands. Ajax was also the best club in the world in the 1970s. They are one of the five clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions.
Though most of their European success was in the 20th century, they are still the most successful Dutch club. They are a talent-producing factory and always perform well in the Eredivisie.
| Name of the Club | AFC Ajax |
| Nickname | de Godenzonen |
| Stadium | Johan Cruyff Arena |
| Country | Netherlands |
| League Titles won (Eredivisie) | 35 |
| UEFA Champions League titles | 4 |
| Rivals | PSV, Feyenoord |
| Some Noteworthy players | Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard, Frank de Boer |
These were the nine biggest clubs in the world with respect to history and trophies.
Instead of putting up the 10th club, we would like to mention the following clubs who can lay their claim to being one of the best football club in the world
They include:
- Chelsea FC
- Arsenal
- Manchester City
- Celtic
- Rangers
- Porto FC
- Benfica FC
- Sporting CP
- Atletico Madrid
- Borussia Dortmund
- Paris Saint Germain
- Olympic Marseille
- PSV
- Boca Juniors
- River Plate
- Indipendiente
- Racing Club
- Flamengo
- Corinthians
- São Paulo
- Palmeiras etc.
