The European Cup was first played in the 1955/56 season and the inaugural edition of the club competition was won by Real Madrid.
Miguel Muñoz was the captain for Los Blancos’ first two triumphs, later going on to manage the Spanish side for 14 years between 1960 and 1974.
Originally, only league champions qualified for the European Cup, but that changed as the competition was expanded and rebranded as the Champions League in 1992/93.
Here, a look at some of the men who captained their teams to glory in Europe’s premier club competition…
16. Frank Lampard & John Terry
John Terry was suspended for the 2012 Champions League final, so Frank Lampard captained Chelsea against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
But after the Blues’ victory against the Bavarians on their home patch in a penalty shootout, Terry emerged in a pristine full-kit ensemble to lift the trophy alongside Lampard in a moment which became a social media meme sensation.
15. Xavi & Andrés Iniesta
Xavi came off the bench to help Barcelona win the 2015 Champions League final against Juventus as Luis Enrique’s side completed a treble with a 3-1 win in Berlin.
The former Spain midfielder lifted the trophy in his final game as a Barcelona player, with team-mate Andrés Iniesta named as the captain on the pitch at the Olympiastadion. Both players celebrated their fourth win in the continental competition.
14. İlkay Gündoğan
After a few near misses including defeat in the 2021 final, Manchester City finally won the Champions League in 2023.
Pep Guardiola’s side edged out Inter in a 1-0 win to complete a historic treble. Captain İlkay Gündoğan lifted the trophy after Rodri’s winner in Istanbul.
13. Peter Schmeichel
Roy Keane was Manchester United’s captain for their treble-winning season in 1998/99, but the Irish midfielder was suspended for the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, so Peter Schmeichel skippered the team instead.
Schmeichel was key to United’s epic late comeback at Camp Nou, going up for a corner and causing chaos in the Bayern box as Teddy Sheringham levelled at 1-1. The Dane stayed in goal as his team-mates won another corner, but was soon lifting the trophy after Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s winner deep in added time.
12. Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard was instrumental in Liverpool’s incredible comeback from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul.
Gerrard scored Liverpool’s first goal and turned in a Man-of-the-Match display as the Reds roared back to level at 3-3 and ended up winning in a penalty shootout.
11. Javier Zanetti
Javier Zanetti spent almost two decades at Inter and the former Argentina defender made over 850 appearances for the Nerazzurri.
The versatile Argentine was Inter’s captain for their treble triumph in 2009/10 under José Mourinho, lifting the Champions League trophy after victory over Bayern Munich in Madrid.
10. Didier Deschamps
Didier Deschamps captained Marseille to Champions League glory in 1993 as OM beat AC Milan in the final to become the first French team to claim the European Cup.
Deschamps went on to win the competition again with Juventus in 1996, before losing in the next two finals, although he was not the captain in those games and did not make it off the bench as Valencia lost on penalties to Bayern Munich in the 2001 showpiece. The midfielder skippered France to World Cup and European Championship crowns in 1998 and 2000, respectively.
9. Emlyn Hughes
Emlyn Hughes spent 12 years at Liverpool and the former England defender made over 650 appearances for the Anfield club.
A versatile player who could operate in defence or midfield, Hughes captained the Reds to European Cup wins in 1977 and 1978, having also skippered the side which claimed the UEFA Cup in 1976.
8. John McGovern
John McGovern was never capped by Scotland at full international level, but the former midfielder enjoyed great success in his club career under Brian Clough at Derby County and Nottingham Forest.
A First Division winner with both clubs, McGovern was Forest captain for the Reds’ back-to-back European Cup final wins in 1979 and 1980.
7. Armando Picchi
A versatile defender who moved from right-back to libero under the legendary Helenio Herrera at Inter, Armando Picchi became captain of the Nerazzurri after Bruno Bolchi left in 1963.
As skipper, Picchi led the Grande Inter side to back-to-back European Cup wins in the mid-1960s, beating Real Madrid in the 1964 final and retaining the trophy with victory over Benfica the following year.
6. Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi was the captain of Arrigo Sacchi’s great AC Milan side in the late 1980s and early 1990s and spent his entire career with the Rossoneri.
The legendary former Italy defender lifted the European Cup as captain in 1989 and 1990, but was suspended for the 1994 final as Fabio Capello’s side beat Barcelona 4-0 in Athens, with Mauro Tassotti skippering the team instead.
5. Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini spent his entire career at AC Milan and the former Italy defender won the European Cup five times, while also finishing as runner-up on three occasions.
Maldini led Milan to the title as captain in 2003 and 2007, while also skippering the side which lost to Liverpool in 2005. Previously a winner in 1989, 1990 and 1994, he made over 900 appearances for the Rossoneri overall.
4. Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol made close to 700 appearances in a career spent entirely with Barcelona and the World Cup-winning defender was an inspirational captain for the Catalan club.
Puyol won three Champions League crowns with the Blaugrana. After starting in the 2006 and 2009 finals, the defender was a late substitute in the 2011 showpiece and allowed team-mate Éric Abidal to lift the trophy following surgery to remove a tumour from his liver just 10 weeks earlier.
3. Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff was Ajax’s star player in the early 1970s and the Dutch legend was instrumental in the Amsterdam club’s three consecutive European Cup wins in that time.
Ajax beat Panathinaikos 2-0 in the 1971 final, defeated Inter by the same scoreline the following year and made it three in a row with a 1-0 victory over Juventus in 1973. Cruyff was captain for the first and last of those triumphs and scored both goals against Inter in the 1972 showpiece.
2. Franz Beckenbauer
Frank Beckenbauer was Bayern Munich’s captain for the Bavarians’ three consecutive European Cup wins in the 1970s.
The legendary sweeper lifted the trophy in 1974, 1975 and 1976. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner also skippered West Germany to European Championship and World Cup titles in 1972 and 1974, respectively. And in 1990, he won the World Cup as West Germany manager.
1. Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos won the Champions League four times as a Real Madrid player and the former Spain centre-back was captain for three of those triumphs.
Ramos was key as Madrid won the trophy for a 10th time, La Décima, in 2014 as he headed a late leveller to force extra time against Atlético in Lisbon. Iker Casillas was captain that year, but Ramos took over as skipper after the goalkeeper’s exit in 2015 and lifted the trophy each time as Los Blancos sealed a historic three-peat under Zinédine Zidane between 2016 and 2018. He scored Madrid’s goal in the 2016 final – also against Atlético – and converted his penalty in the shootout win.
