A seasonal review of changes in the rankings for Europe’s ’20 most successful managers’, ‘most successful leagues’, ’50 most successful clubs’, plus the top nations rankings
ARL Football Club Ranking System
The ARL Football Club Ranking System for men’s European club football establishes which clubs are the most successful in each nation and in the whole of Europe, based on which trophies, and how many, have been won.
Click here for the ranking system explained.
With Paris Saint Germain’s continued supremacy over Europe and major domestic trophies won by old giants and less prolific clubs across the continent, there were some big changes in the standing of clubs in the ARL Football Club Rankings. Lets take a look.
50 Most Successful European Football Clubs
Barcelona won La Liga yet Bayern Munich went one step further winning a league-cup ‘double’ which moves them above the Spanish giants as 2nd most successful club on the continent, behind only Real Madrid.
Celtic rose up the table with their domestic ‘double’ to take Manchester United‘s 8th place.
Inter Milan’s continued success this decade means they moved above arch-rivals AC Milan into 12th place.
Paris Saint Germain‘s incredible five-trophy haul and 47 points, means they overhauled Greek giants Olympiacos into 16th position.
Arsenal’s PL triumph lifted them above Fenerbahçe into 21st whilst Manchester City kept pace by overtaking Athletic Bilbao into 23rd.
Aston Villa‘s Europa League win lifted them from 41st to 39th, above Malmo and Slovan Bratislava.
Finally, movement in the UEFA Men’s Association Coefficient standings meant that Croatia moved from a Tier 4 to a Tier 3 nation, replacing Israel going the other way, and affecting the value of their domestic silverware accordingly. This means that Croatia’s most successful club, Dinamo Zagreb, entered the top 50 rankings at 31st place. Isreal’s top club, Maccabi Tel Aviv, meanwhile, dropped out.
Europe’s Most Successful Football Leagues
With French club PSG and English clubs Aston Villa and Crystal Palace the only winners of international silverware, the Premier League strengthened its place in 2nd – well below Spain’s ‘La Liga’ still, whilst France’s Ligue 1 climbed above Belgium’s Pro League into 7th.
20 Most Successful Football Managers in Europe
2nd-placed Pep Guardiola looks destined, despite his current hiatus from management, to eventually take Alex Ferguson’s top spot. The Spaniard won 18 more points last season with Man City.
PSG’s Luis Enrique‘s accrued 47 points, meanwhile, rocketed him up the table from 12th to 8th.
National Rankings
England’s Most Successful Football Clubs of All Time, Ranked – English clubs won silverware both home and abroad with several clubs strengthening their positions in England’s national rankings. Crystal Palace built on their first ever FA Cup win in 2025 by adding a Community Shield and UEFA Conference League triumph. This soared the Eagles to joint 28th. 6th place Aston Villa gained on Chelsea with their Europa League win; Man City firmed up their 4th place with a cheeky domestic cup ‘double’; and Arsenal strengthened their 3rd place position with a first Premier League in 21 years.
Italy’s Most Successful Football Clubs of All Time – A seismic shift occured in Italy’s rankings last season: Inter Milan achieved a league-cup ‘double’ which pushed them above their neighbours AC Milan into 2nd place, but over 300 points behind Juventus. Napoli, meanwhile, built on their recent period of glory with another Supercoppa Italiana to strengthen their 8th place position.
Spain’s Most Successful Football Clubs – Barcelona won ‘La Liga’ plus the Supercopa to score 20 more points, this puts them less than 140 points behind Real Madrid. Real Sociedad clinched their 4th Copa del Rey which pushed La Real above Real Zaragoza into 7th place.
Germany’s Most Successful Football Clubs – Bayern Munich achieved a clean sweep of all three domestic trophies which strengthened their impervious position in the national rankings in 1st place, 870 points ahead of 2nd place Borussia Dortmund.
France’s Most Successful Football Clubs – PSG enjoyed another champagne season by almost completing a clean sweep of trophies. Although a relatively young club, PSG are leaving the rest of the French pack far behind in the national rankings; they are now 136 points above 2nd place Olympique Marseilles. Meanwhile, Lens entered the rankings with their inaugural Coupe de France to go joint 35th.
Portugal’s Most Successful Football Clubs – There were some exciting developments in the Portuguese rankings. While 2nd place Porto moved within 130 points of top dogs Benfica with their 31st Premeira Liga title, Vitória won their first ever Taça da Liga to take 9th place for their own, pushing down six other clubs to joint 10th. One of those clubs includes newcomers Torreense who won their first major trophy – the Taca de Portugal – to enter the rankings.
The Netherlands’ Most Successful Football Clubs – PSV further secured their 2nd place position with their 27th Eredivisie title. Meanwhile, Alkmaar overtook Willem II Tilburg to move to 9th place with their 5th KNVB Cup.
Belgium’s Most Successful Football Clubs – Club Bruges maintain their dominance of the Pro League by adding a 2nd star to their club crest with a 20th league title, strengthening their 2nd place position behind Anderlecht. Union Saint Gilloise built on their recent winning streak to claim their 4th Belgian Cup which pushes them up from 4th to joint 3rd, alongside Standard Liège.
Scotland’s Most Successful Football Clubs – Celtic beat off a strong title challenge by Hearts to win the Premiership-Scottish Cup ‘double’ for another 12 points, which puts them 33 points above their Old Firm rivals, Rangers.
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