Most Successful Spanish Soccer Clubs Of All Time
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It’s no wonder the same is the case in Spain. Spanish soccer is currently among the best in the world, and the popularity of the sport has brought us some of the greatest soccer clubs in history.
The way FIFA is the governing body of world soccer, the same way the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) governs Spanish soccer. They organize the national soccer teams of Spain, in all different age categories for both men’s and women’s soccer. They also organize club soccer in the country.
What Trophies Have Spanish Soccer Clubs Won?
Domestically, Spanish clubs can win three different competitions. The main two are La Liga, the soccer championship of Spain, and Copa del Rey, the national cup competition. Another competition in RFEF’s jurisdiction is the Supercopa, a mini-tournament where the best clubs from the last season’s La Liga and Copa del Rey participate.
Spanish soccer clubs also compete internationally. In Europe, Spanish clubs have won UEFA competitions such as Champions League, Europa League and the now-extinct Cup Winners’ Cup. Also, there are Spanish clubs that were champions of the world. But have you ever wondered which are the most successful Spanish soccer clubs of all time?
We will explore that in great detail, looking at which clubs have won the three main Spanish competitions. We will also look at which Spanish clubs have won international and European trophies. Among those are the Champions League and other UEFA competitions. Here are the top 10 most successful Spanish soccer clubs of all time.
10. Zaragoza
The Spanish soccer club of Real Zaragoza has won more trophies than some clubs ranked higher on this list. However, Zaragoza was never a champion of Spain. They were founded in 1932, 90 years ago, and among nine of their trophies, none of them came in La Liga, which is domestically the most important one.
Still, Zaragoza has a decent trophy cabinet. They have won Copa del Rey a total of six times. They have one Supercopa de Espana to their name and even a European trophy – they won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994-95.
The club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, also won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1963-64. That competition was not UEFA affiliated before it was abolished in 1971 and replaced with the UEFA Cup, now known as Europa League. As of the 2021-22 season, Zaragoza plays in Segunda División, Spain’s second-tier soccer competition.
9. Betis
In ninth place are Real Betis, the famous club from Seville in the south of Spain. ‘Los Verdiblancos’ (The Green-and-Whites) are one of the most famous Spanish soccer clubs, established in 1907.
They have not won as many trophies as Zaragoza, but they have been the champions of Spain on one occasion. Only nine clubs have managed to do that in over 90 years of Spanish league competitions.
Betis were champions of Spain in 1934-35, which remains their only La Liga title to date. They have won two Copa del Rey trophies. The first one was in 1977 and the last one in 2005. These days, Betis regularly compete in La Liga and sometimes even in UEFA competitions. However, they have been waiting for a trophy for a while now.
8. Deportivo de la Coruña
Spanish soccer club Deportivo is another team with fewer trophies than Real Zaragoza, but with probably a richer history. The club founded as Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña was established in 1906 and based in the region of Galicia. They have a total of six big trophies won.
‘Depor’ were champions of Spain once, shockingly winning the La Liga title in the 1999-2000 season. They have two Copa del Rey trophies as well, and they both arrived relatively recently – in 1995 and 2002. Those were the golden years for the club – Deportivo also finished runners-up in La Liga five times, four of which came between 1994 and 2002.
Their trophy count also consists of three Supercopa de Espana trophies, which they won in 1995, 2000 and 2002. However, they have fallen out of their winning ways since. As of the 2021-22 season, they compete in the third tier of Spanish soccer.
7. Real Sociedad
In seventh place among the greatest Spanish soccer clubs is Real Sociedad. From San Sebastian, in the Basque region of Spain, this club is one of the iconic ones in the country. They have won six trophies, same as Deportivo, but they were champions of Spain more times.
Real Sociedad were La Liga winners two times, in 1981 and 1982, when they dominated Spanish soccer for a brief period. They also won three Copa del Rey trophies, more than 110 years apart from the first and the last one. Their cup wins came in 1909, 1987 and 2020, showing just how much history Real Sociedad possesses.
The White and Blues also have one Supercopa, won in 1982, but they have not done as well in European competitions. They have never reached a European final, playing in the 1982-83 semifinals of the European Cup.
6. Sevilla
The Spanish soccer club Sevilla is the other half of the Seville derby. They have many more trophies than their city rivals Real Betis, winning 14 in total.
Sevilla was founded 132 years ago, back in 1890, and is one of the oldest soccer clubs in Spain. It is no wonder then that they have won their fair share of soccer trophies in the meantime.
Sevilla won just one La Liga trophy in 1946, but recently, they have expanded their trophy cabinet. They have five Copa del Rey trophies, the last of which came in 2010. They won Supercopa de Espana in 2007, but they thoroughly dominated Europa League, winning it record six times between 2006 and 2020. Among those 13 trophies, they also have the UEFA Super Cup from 2006 to complete the count.
5. Valencia
The fifth most successful Spanish soccer club of all time is Valencia. The club from the same-named city was founded in 1919. In the 103 years since, they have won over 20 trophies, both domestically and internationally.
With six La Liga titles they are the fifth club on the all-time list, claiming their last two in 2002 and 2004. Valencia also has eight Copa del Reys, winning the last one in 2019. They also have the Supercopa de Espana from 1999 and trophies in four different European competitions. Valencia won one Cup Winners’ Cup, one UEFA Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups.
That makes them a Spanish giant among soccer clubs, being only one of four teams that won La Liga in the 21st century.
4. Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid is one of the four greatest Spanish soccer clubs. The club was established way back in 1903, and throughout history, they had strong links with the national Air Force, especially during General Franco’s reign in the mid-20th century.
But on the pitch, they won 11 La Liga trophies and 10 Copa del Reys, making them only one of three teams to have won both competitions at least ten times. They won the Spanish Super Cup twice. In European competitions, they won the Cup Winners’ Cup once, three Europa League titles between 2010 and 2018 and three UEFA Super Cups in the same time span.
Interestingly, Atletico Madrid were champions of the world in 1974, winning the Intercontinental Cup, even though they never won the European Cup. In 1974, they lost the final, but winners Bayern Munich refused to participate in the Intercontinental Cup against the champions of South America. Atletico replaced them and duly delivered.
3. Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club de Bilbao are Spain’s third most successful soccer club of all time, even though they have won fewer league titles than Atletico. But Athletic Bilbao is historically a greater club – they were one of the early greats of Spanish soccer.
Founded in 1898, they are one of the oldest Spanish clubs and they are only one of the three founding members of the Primera Division that got relegated from Spain’s top flight. Only Barcelona and Real Madrid have managed to do the same.
They won eight La Liga trophies, three of which came in the first five years since the league’s inception in 1929. But more importantly, they have 23 Copa del Reys, nine of which they won before 1929. That is important because before the establishment of La Liga, Copa del Rey was the only competition played across the entire country, and the winner of it was ultimately considered the best team in Spain.
Apart from those trophies, Athletic Bilbao has also won three Supercopa de Espana titles, with the last one coming in 2021.
2. Barcelona
FC Barcelona is the second most successful Spanish soccer club of all time. Alongside that, they are one of the greatest ever soccer clubs. The club was founded in 1899, and in 123 years, they have won so many trophies it is not easy to list them all.
They were champions of Spain 26 times, winning the inaugural La Liga in 1929. They won 31 Copa del Rey trophies, which is the record in the competition. Seven of those 31 came before the national league was established, too. With that, they also have the record-setting 13 Supercopa de Espana trophies.
Internationally, Barcelona won five Champions League titles, four between 2006 and 2015, showing their dominance in European soccer’s recent history. They have four UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups, which is also a record for the competition. The same is the case with their five UEFA Super Cups, while they have also won three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Finally, they were world champions on three occasions, in 2009, 2011 and 2015.
This impressive trophy list sets Barcelona as one of the most successful clubs ever. But in Spain, there is one even more successful.
1. Real Madrid
The most successful Spanish soccer club of all time is Real Madrid. Established in 1902, for many, Real Madrid is the greatest and most successful soccer club in the world. And when you see their trophy cabinet, it is clear why.
They were champions of Spain on a record-setting 34 occasions. They are by far the best club in the country in that regard. But that is just the beginning. Real Madrid also has 19 Copa del Rey trophies and 12 Supercopa de Espana titles.
‘Los Blancos’ (The Whites) are by far the best European soccer club, as they have won 13 Champions League titles. No other club in Europe has won it seven times, while Real Madrid managed to win five in a row in the first five seasons since the competition’s creation in 1955. Their last four Champions League trophies, Real won in five seasons between 2014 and 2018.
They also have two UEFA Cup trophies (nowadays known as Europa League), four UEFA Super Cups and seven world champion titles. Three of those, Real won when it was still played as an Intercontinental Cup between champions of Europe and South America, and the other four since its new format was introduced to make it the FIFA Club World Cup.
Conclusion
Nine different clubs were champions of Spain between 1929 and 2022. They make up the most successful Spanish soccer clubs, with Real Zaragoza, which has the most Copa del Rey trophies among those who have never won La Liga. But between those t clubs, there is no doubt about which one is the most successful.en
That is Real Madrid, the club that dominated both Spanish and European soccer for decades, with Barcelona being right behind them. These two soccer giants are also known across the globe and for a good reason!
