According to the football transfer rumour, Real Madrid is very close to penning down the Norway international. After a successful talk held in  Monaco, it is reported that Haaland might join Real Madrid next season. The 21-year-old striker is one of the most feared attackers in recent times and has been heavily linked with some of the top football giants.

Since joining Borussia Dortmund, Erling Haaland has scored 80 goals in just 79 appearances; after switching from RB Salzburg two years ago.

Football Transfer Rumour: Are Real Madrid the only ones after Haaland?

In the coming summer, he most definitely will switch clubs if Dortmund fails to keep hold of him.  Haaland is said to have a cut-price release clause of around £68million written into his contract. Moreover, this cut-price clause is set to come into effect in the summer.

Big guns like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Chelsea; are all trying to land him to their clubs next season for his services.

However, as per words, the Los Blancos are well ahead in the race of signing Haaland after 'successful talks' in Monaco. The Spanish side has closed a 'preferential agreement' with Haaland's agents to bring him to the Bernabeu.

So now Real Madrid is splashing all their saved money from last season to get all the puzzle pieces they need. From Mbappe to Haaland, Real Madrid is going to so come serious business this summer.

In Europe, the Champions League is seen as the most demanding title among players, managers, and clubs from all over Europe. The Giant clubs compete for this specific trophy every year, with the prestige and financial rewards received from the tournament being among the biggest in club football.

Achieving success in this competition is usually seen by most players and managers as the benchmark of club-level achievement in Europe. For many managers, winning the Champions League is the ultimate goal.

Some managers, however, have managed to win the competition multiple times, some with multiple teams as well. Without further due, here are the interesting football facts of the five managers with the most Champions League titles.

Read Also: Barcelona 2008/09 vs Man City 2022/23 - which Pep Guardiola treble team is better?

Football Facts: Managers with the most UCL titles 

Pep Guardiola | 3 Champions League titles

Many regard Pep Guardiola as the greatest manager of his generation due to his success with all the clubs he has managed. The Spanish manager has won the competition thrice in his managerial career, two times with FC Barcelona and once with Manchester City.

Guardiola won his first Champions League title in his first season in charge of Barcelona, with his side defeating Manchester United 2-0 in 2008-09 as part of their first-ever treble. The former Barcelona midfielder was 38 years old at the time, making him the youngest manager to win the competition to date.

He won his second title two years later in the 2010-11 season, defeating the same opponent 3-1 in the final. Lionel Messi was the star of both triumphs, scoring both times.

Then he managed Bayern but wasn't able to bring any Champions League titles to the German Club. Finally, his 12-year wait came to an end when Manchester City defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in the Final of the UCL 2022-23 season.

Read Also | European treble winners in men's football history

Zinedine Zidane | 3 Champions League titles

Zinedine Zidane led Real Madrid in its most dominant period of the 21st century. The Frenchman won three titles with Los Blancos in three years in charge of the club.

Zidane won his first title just four months after he replaced Rafael Benitez as manager of Real Madrid. He led the side to defeat Atletico Madrid on penalties in the 2015-16 final.

The next season, Real Madrid defeated Juventus 4-1 in the final for their 12th crown.

Zidane led Real Madrid to a 3-1 win over Liverpool in the 2017-18 final. The Frenchman is the only manager in history to win the competition three consecutive times. He is also the first and only French manager to win the competition to date.

Bob Paisley | 3 European Cups

Bob Paisley was a Liverpool soccer player, manager, and administrator for almost 50 years. 

No football manager demonstrated the art of leading quietly and without ego more than Bob Paisley. He won twenty trophies in nine years for Liverpool Football Club between 1974 and 1983.

He brought 3 European Cups, six League Championships (including three in a row in 1981, 1982, and 1983), three League Cups, 6 Charity Shields, one UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup.

Paisley is the only British manager to win the European Cup three times. Bob is now regarded as one of the best soccer managers of all time.

Carlo Ancelotti | 5 Champions League titles

Carlo Ancelotti is one of football's managerial greats of the 21st century. The Italian manager has won five Champions League titles in his time as a manager, having also won the competition twice as a player.

Ancelotti won his first Champions League title in the 2002-03 season with AC Milan as his side defeated Juventus on penalties in the final. He won his second title in the 2006-07 season as AC Milan defeated Liverpool 2-1.

Ancelotti won his third title with Real Madrid in the 2013-14 season after his side defeated Atlético Madrid 4-1. His fourth title came in the 2021-22 season with Real Madrid once again after a 1-0 victory over Liverpool.

He completed his fifth win in the Champions League as a manager in the 2023-24 season when Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund by 2-0 in the final.

The Italian manager is also the only manager to win all of Europe's top five leagues.

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Football Facts: Managers with the most UCL titles (Top Ten)

Europe has the best and the toughest club competition in the world. The only thing which separates an elite club from a normal club is the Champions League title. Clubs all around Europe dream of winning this competition. Clubs with the most Champions League titles earn more bragging rights than the others. Let's take a look at the top clubs that have won the most number of Champions League titles in the tournament's history.

Champions League Finalists and Winners List since 1956

Top clubs with the most Champions League titles (3 or more)

1. Real Madrid CF (15 UCL titles)

Everyone considers Real Madrid C.F. as the most successful club in world football. This club has achieved great heights both in recent times and in the past. Real Madrid won the first-ever European Cup in 1955-56 which was also the founding year of the competition. Back then it was formally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The current format has been around since 1992. Real Madrid has won 15 UEFA Champions League titles which is more than any club in the world.

They won the tournament five consecutive times in the first five seasons of the tournament. Their recent achievement includes a three-peat of winning the UCL under Zinedine Zidane (2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18).

Cristiano Ronaldo was their star performer with the most impact in the competition. He further tops the chart of the most goal scorers and assists providers in the competition as well.

Also Read: Ronaldo records: Only player to be top scorer of the season in three different leagues

Real Madrid CF's Title winning years

2. AC Milan (7 UCL Titles)

AC Milan is an Italian giant with a rich history and glories. They produced players like Maldini, Dida, Nesta and many more. They dominated world football in the past few decades, but things have changed drastically since then.

Milan has fallen from the ranks of great clubs in recent times, but their UCL glory is still more than others, just behind Real Madrid. They have beaten the likes of Juventus, Liverpool, and Barcelona to win the Champions League in the past. Milan has won the Champions League 7 times in their history.

AC Milan's Title winning years

Also Read: Most Champions League Goals In History

3. FC Bayern Munich (6 UCL titles)

Bayern Munich has been the dominant force in Europe for quite a long time. They dominate the Bundesliga and the domestic cup titles, too. Recently, they have been one of the most prominent sides in Europe to deal with. Bayern humiliated Barcelona with an 8-2 defeat in the UCL quarter-finals and won the 2019-20 Champions League, beating PSG comfortably by 1-0.

Robert Lewandowski was their main man in recent years, with the most goals. However, they have consistently produced players like Robben, Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller and others who helped them win the trebles and sextuples.

Bayern Munich's Title winning years

4. Liverpool FC (6 UCL titles)

Liverpool has turned the tables beautifully in recent times. They were a great force in the European competition but suddenly went numb. Liverpool had a rough patch where they went trophyless for many years. With the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager, Liverpool slowly redeemed themselves. In the 2017-18 season, they reached the UCL finals but failed to win against Real Madrid.

Next season they came back stronger, from a 3-0 defeat in the first leg to win 4-0 in the second leg and knocked Barcelona out of the UCL semis. Liverpool went on to be the champions defeating Spurs by 2-0 in the all-English final to win their 6th UCL trophy. Their great comeback against Milan in 2005 at Istanbul still gives goosebumps to every football fan.

Liverpool's Title winning years

5. FC Barcelona (5 UCL Titles)

FC Barcelona are one of the biggest clubs in Europe with a great history in the UCL. They have won the title 5 times, while three of them came in the last decade. Their famous Lamasia - The FC Barcelona academy produced world-class players at the time. Players like Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and many more were a part of the academy.

Coach Pep Guardiola conquered the world with some beautiful football. He managed to win both the Treble and Sextuple during his reign. A few years later Luis Enrique guided them to their 5th UCL title and also a treble. That was Barcelona's last high run in the UCL. After that, they have faced some problems and have not been able to continue their dominance in European football.

Read Also: Top 10: Most Free-kick Goals In Football History

FC Barcelona's Title winning years

6. Ajax (4 UCL Titles)

AFC Ajax has a great history. They are the only team to win the UCL 4 times which is not from the top 5 leagues. Football maestro Johan Cruyff was from this team, he later changed the definition of playing football. Introducing Tiki-taka football to the world, Ajax had a great run in the past. He later influenced Barcelona to play that type of football which brought them huge success in the end.

They last won the title in 1995 when the likes of Van der Sar, and Rijkaard used to play for them. Since then they have reached the UCL semifinal in 2019 upsetting big teams and then lost to the Spurs in the semifinal in the dying minutes. Ajax's run is considered one of the greatest underdogs in the history of the UEFA Champions League.

Ajax's Title winning years

7. Manchester United (3 UCL Titles)

Manchester United one of the greatest clubs in the world has won three Champions League titles. They looked like the best team in the world during their reign. Players like David Beckham, Ryan Gigs, and Wayne Rooney were part of the golden team when United lifted their 3rd European title. Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of this team is one of the greatest ever in the history of the sport. He introduced one of the recent footballing greats Cristiano Ronaldo in top-flight football, who was also part of that 2007-08 team.

Manchester United have also won the treble and enlisted themselves in an elite list in World Football. Since then they qualified for two Champions League finals but faced defeat against FC Barcelona.

Read Also: 10 Most FA Cup Winners List: FA Cup in detail

Manchester United's Title winning years

8. Internazionale (3 UCL Titles)

Internazionale won two of their three trophies back in the 1960s. Since then, they have been having a disappointing year in and year out. Their recent UCL title was in 2009-10 when Jose Mourinho took charge. They were not the favourites in that season, yet they went on to win the UCL.

Jose Mourinho at that time was emerging as one of the best coaches in the world. He played typical defensive football, frustrating his opponents, which created mistakes. They capitalised on those mistakes and went on to win their 3rd Champions League. They defeated the heavyweights Barcelona in the semis and Bayern Munich in the final to clinch their title.

Internazionale's Title winning years

Clubs with less than three Champions League titles:

The game between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad was stopped for a few minutes as Luka Modric was substituted in the second half.

Real Madrid players gave him a guard of honour while Toni Kroos and Carlo Ancelotti gave a special hug to Real Madrid's most decorated player ever. 

Read Also | Luka Modric to Depart Real Madrid After Club World Cup, Leaving Legacy as Club Legend

Modric will end his Real Madrid career with the FIFA Club World Cup and, till now, has won 28 trophies for the Los Blancos. 

Along with Modric, it was also Carlo Ancelotti's last home match for Real Madrid, as he will also be leaving Real Madrid at the end of this season. 

The European leagues are up and running and we have already witnessed some great encounters between the top European teams. The hunt to win the European Golden Boot is also taking shape for the 2024-25 season.

Some big names from the Top five European leagues are already in full swing and they are scoring loads of goals to clinch the coveted annual award for the highest goalscorer in Europe. However, some young and talented players have enlisted themselves in the charts as well; even from outside of the top five European leagues.

According to the coefficient rankings updated by UEFA on 7 November 2024, the top five European Leagues are the English Premier League, Serie A (Italy), LaLiga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), and French Ligue 1 respectively. 

Sportzpoint brings you all the details about the leading goalscorers in the top five European leagues, details of the UEFA League ranking, and the leading goalscorers competing for the 2024-25 European Golden Boot.

The European Golden Boot Race

The Golden Boot is awarded by European Sports Media (ESM) which is a unified association of Football Magazine publications such as Marca, Kicker, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Frankfurter AZ, etc. They took over since 1996-97 season and started a new ranking system based on the position of the league for the respective players. 

The UEFA coefficient ranking is considered a measure for weighting points, with the principle being to acknowledge players who score in leagues of higher quality according to rankings, which makes it tougher to find the back of the net.

The number of goals scored in the top five leagues of Europe are counted with a multiplier of two, while those from leagues ranked six to 21 receive a 1.5 multiplier, and goals from all other leagues are counted as one.

This is how the points system works. 

⚽️🏆 Players with the Most European Golden Boot Wins:

🇦🇷 Lionel Messi: 6
🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo: 4
🇺🇾 Luis Suarez: 2
🇫🇷 Thierry Henry: 2
🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski: 2

😳😳😳🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/AObaXoSpah

— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) July 26, 2024

Before looking at the players' list, here is the official UEFA ranking of league coefficients:

UEFA Ranking: League coefficients

Rank 1-5

Goal scorers from these five leagues receive a multiplier of 2. 

Rank 6-21

Goal scorers from these leagues ranked from 6 to 21 receive a multiplier of 1.5. 

Top goalscorers of the 2024-25 season in the top 5 European Leagues (as of 24th May 2025):

Premier League | England

1. Mohamed Salah | 28 Goals

• Club: Liverpool FC
• Nationality: Egypt
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 28

2. Alexander Isak | 23 goals

• Club: Newcastle United
• Nationality: Sweden
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 23

3. Erling Haaland | 21 goals

• Club: Manchester City
• Nationality: Norway
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 21

4. Chris Wood | 20 goals

• Club: Nottingham Forrest
• Nationality: New Zealand
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 20

5. Bryan Mbeumo | 19 goals

• Club: Brentford
• Nationality: Cameroon
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 19

Serie A | Italy

1. Mario Retegui | 25 goals 

• Club: Atalanta BC
• Nationality: Italy
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 25

2. Moise Kean | 18 goals

• Club: AFC Fiorentina
• Nationality: Italy
• Appearances: 10
• Goals: 5

3. Ademola Lookman | 15 goals

• Club: Atalanta BC
• Nationality: Nigeria
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 15

4. Romelo Lukaku | 14 goals

• Club: Napoli
• Nationality: Belgium
• Appearances: 36
• Goals: 14

5. Marcus Thuram | 14 goals 

• Club: Inter Milan
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 32
• Goals: 14

LaLiga | Spain

1. Kylian Mbappe | 30 goals

• Club: Real Madrid
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 34
• Goals: 30

2. Robert Lewandowski | 25 goals 

• Club: FC Barcelona
• Nationality: Poland
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 25

3. Ante Budimir | 21 goals 

• Club: CA Osasuna
• Nationality: Croatia
• Appearances: 37
• Goals: 21

4. Ayoze Perez | 19 goals 

• Club: Villarreal
• Nationality: Spain
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 19

5. Raphinha | 18 goals

• Club: FC Barcelona
• Nationality: Brazil
• Appearances: 35
• Goals: 18

Bundesliga | Germany 

1. Harry Kane | 26 goals 

• Club: Bayern Munich
• Nationality: England
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 26

2. Serhou Guirassy | 21 goals

• Club: Borussia Dortmund
• Nationality: Guinea
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 21

3. Patrik Schick | 21 goals

• Club: Bayer Leverkusen 
• Nationality: Czech Republic
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 21

4. Jonathan Burkardt | 18 goals

• Club: 1.FSV Mainz 05
• Nationality: Belgium
• Appearances: 29
• Goals: 18

5. Tim Kleindienst | 16 goals 

• Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Nationality: Germany
• Appearances: 31
• Goals: 16

Ligue 1 | France

1. Ousmane Dembele | 21 goals 

• Club: Paris Saint-Germain
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 29
• Goals: 21

2. Mason Greenwood | 21 goals 

• Club: Olympique de Marseille
• Nationality: England
• Appearances: 34
• Goals: 21

3. Arnaud Kalimuendo | 17 goals

• Club: Stade Rennais FC
  
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 33
• Goals: 17

4. Jonathan David | 16 goals

• Club: Lille OSC
• Nationality: Canada
• Appearances: 32
• Goals: 16

5. Alexandre Lacazette | 15 goals

• Club: Lyon
• Nationality: France
• Appearances: 30
• Goals: 15

Read Also | Most goals in Europe's Top Five Leagues in 2023/24 Season

The Ultimate European Golden Boot Race (Among the top 10 European Leagues according to UEFA coefficient rankings)

Considering the players from the top 10 European leagues in this list, this is what the current race of chasing the 2024-25 European Golden Boot looks like:

Real Madrid CF announced that their captain, Luka Modric, will conclude his illustrious tenure with the club following the Club World Cup, set to begin on June 18 in the United States. The Croatian midfielder, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history, will bid farewell after an extraordinary 13-year journey.

Since joining Real Madrid in 2012, Modric has been a cornerstone of one of the most triumphant eras in the club’s storied history.

Over his 13 seasons, he amassed an unparalleled 28 titles, including 6 European Cups, 6 Club World Cups, 5 European Super Cups, 4 LaLiga titles, 2 Copas del Rey, and 5 Spanish Super Cups.

His trophy cabinet makes him the player with the most titles in Real Madrid’s 123-year history, a record shared by only five players in football history who have won six European Cups.

Modric’s individual accolades are equally remarkable. In 2018, he claimed the Ballon d’Or, FIFA The Best Men’s Player, and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards.

He has been named to the FIFA FIFPro World XI six times and was recognised as the Champions League Best Midfielder twice. On the pitch for Real Madrid, Modric made 590 appearances, scoring 43 goals, and earned a Golden Ball and Silver Ball at the Club World Cup.

Internationally, Modric is Croatia’s record holder for appearances with 186 caps. His leadership guided Croatia to a runner-up finish at the 2018 World Cup, where he won the Golden Ball, and a third-place finish in 2022, earning the Bronze Ball.

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez praised Modric’s impact, stating, “Luka Modric will forever remain in the hearts of all madridistas as a unique and exemplary footballer who has always embodied the values of Real Madrid. His football has captured the imagination of Madridismo and fans all over the world. His legacy will live on forever.”