The European continent is where top football is. The best football clubs in the world come from that continent and the biggest football competition in the world at club level, the UEFA Champions League, takes place there. Teams like Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and many more have taken UEFA to the upper echelons of the football food chain.

In that regard, we decided to make a Top 11 for the best UEFA teams in the world right now, and for this time we only take into account the present season so let’s begin!

Honorable Mention

AS Roma

Serie A

AS Roma have failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League in recent seasons, but they have managed to challenge and win competitions in the other European divisions. This has been a recent result of the Jose Mourinho era, which has managed to take the club to greater heights in international competitions, even if they have struggled mightily in Serie A.

However, the Italians have reached the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League semi finals, won the 2021/22 UEFA Conference League, and reached the recent 2022/23 UEFA Europa League, losing against perennial winners Sevilla in the process. These are the main reasons why AS Roma is in eleventh position.

Top 10 UEFA Champions League Teams

10. Atletico Madrid

La Liga

Atletico Madrid showed this season in La Liga that they can be as strong as Real Madrid and perhaps as FC Barcelona, the two strongest teams in Spain. The Simeone’s side is usually considered the third and sometimes the second-best team in La Liga, and not only in La Liga because they are always one of the strongest and most dangerous teams in the Champions League as they usually qualify for the Champions and go past the round of 16.

They won both the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup back in 2018 and they also won La Liga in the 2020-2021 season for the first time since 2014 and while they didn’t win anything this season, they are always a dangerous side. The team’s most important players are Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak, Marcos Llorente, Ángel Correa, and José Giménez.

9. Borussia Dortmund

Bundesliga

I firmly believe that Borussia Dortmund is cursed with not being able to win the Bundesliga even if their own life depended on it. It is sad to see them losing this way because almost everybody wanted to see them winning the title for the first time since the 2011-2012 season.

But despite that, they are arguably a strong side and the second most powerful team in Germany after the sempiternal Bayern Munich.

Despite not winning the Bundesliga since that season, they were able to win the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup in previous years so taking that in mind and that they are always able to classify to the Champions League, they are still one of the best teams in the world.

With players like the captain Marco Reus, Jude Bellingham, Julian Brandt, Sebastian Haller, and Mats Hummels, they showed that they can fight for the Bundesliga title.

8. Arsenal

Premier League

This year, Arsenal came very close to winning the Premier League for the first time since the 2003-2004 season. They spent several weeks in first place with a huge lead but due to a series of draws and losses, we again saw Manchester City win the league with very little advantage. But despite that, we saw a very strong side that can fight any team in the world.

This year Arsenal was really close to win the league and since 2020 they haven’t won anything, but despite that, we can consider Arsenal as one of the strongest sides in world football but they have to learn how to keep the lead.

Led by Mikel Arteta and with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli, the team has so many young players who can play even better in the years to come.

7. Paris Saint-Germain

Ligue 1

While it is safe to say that PSG have failed in their attempts to win the UEFA Champions League after a decade of massive investment in the squad, their seventh place is warranted when considering their consistent success in Ligue 1 and the respective cup competitions in France.

The French giants have won a vast amount of league titles, and several cups, and have reached the UEFA Champions League latter stages on a regular basis, plus reaching the final in the 2019/20 edition and the semifinal in the 2020/21 edition.

Players such as Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti, and the recently-departed Lionel Messi have been the club’s star footballers in the last couple of years.

6. FC Barcelona

La Liga

It is fair to say that the Catalonian side has struggled in recent years with their participation in the UEFA Champions League, failing to go past the group stage in the last two editions, although they have qualified regularly for the competition with ease, which helps greatly with the ranking.

However, a major difference this season has been the success in La Liga, which they have finally won for the first time in four years.

Xavi Hernandez’s team has a wide variety of players, with the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Gavi, and Ousmane Dembele being some of the most prominent and most important players in the squad.

5. SSC Napoli

Serie A

Napoli is something like a surprise entry in the list but is arguably the most expected one. Led by Luciano Spalletti, they were able to finally clinch the Serie A title for the first time since the 1989-1990 season, with this being their third title overall. This is their first time as titleholders since the Diego Armando Maradona’s days. 

Also, they were able to reach the Champions League quarter finals for the first time in their European history where they were beaten by AC Milan 2-1, but despite this defeat, we saw a team so amazing that we hope we can see them winning more matches and more trophies.

It is safe to say that “Capocannoniere” Victor Osimhen, Kim Min-jae, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, and the mind blowing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are the most important players of this amazing season.

4. Real Madrid

La Liga

Real Madrid is arguably the greatest football team in Champions League history but their inconsistency in the league and Copa del Rey have hurt their position, although it has to be said that this isn’t as much of an issue when compared to the likes of Barcelona, Juventus, or United in recent years. Regardless, Real Madrid in the fourth position seems understandable and also is not a bad position at all.

Madrid won the UEFA Champions League, the competition they have dominated for decades, in the last edition and that season included La Liga as well, which is where they got the most points when compared to the rest. And players such as Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and the recently-departed Karim Benzema have been their standout performers in recent years.

3. Inter Milan

Serie A

Inter Milan have reached the Champions League finals since 2010, the year they won for the third time in their history under the direction of Jose Mourinho in a historic year that will be remembered forever. But since then, they failed to reach the finals again in the next few years.

In recent years, Inter Milan have once again returned to their place as one of the Champions League recurring teams after a few seasons in the wilderness.

Achievements such as reaching this year’s final in the competition, reaching the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League final (losing to Sevilla), winning the 2020/21 Scudetto, and winning the last two editions of the Coppa Italia have cemented their 11th position.

Players such as Marcelo Brozovic, Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku, Andre Onana, Nicolo Barella, and a few more have become mainstays of the institution in recent years.

2. Bayern Munich

Bundesliga

Winning the league provides a lot of points for the UEFA Rankings and Bayern Munich are the perennial winners of the Bundesliga, which is a major factor in their position on this list, as well as qualifying regularly for the UEFA Champions League because of it.

The Bavarian giants also won the 2019/20 Champions League, which included a treble in the process, and they have gone far in the competition in other editions as well. This makes their place here quite logical.

There are a lot of players that have become quite prominent in this Bayern side in recent years, although the likes of Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies, Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, and a few more have been their main men.

1. Manchester City

Premier League

There is no surprise here. Manchester City have won four of the last five editions of the Premier League, have won several cups in England, reached the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League final, reached last season’s semifinals, and now they are poised to play against Inter Milan in this edition’s final.

Pep Guardiola’s side has arguably been one of the most consistent teams in world football in recent seasons and with their endless funds, coupled with a strong and capable football board, Manchester City probably has the best squad in the entire world, considering their depth. And all things considered, they seem poised to win on a regular basis in the coming years.

Players such as Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, and many more have been pivotal in their success in recent times.

How would you rank these European Football Clubs in this year’s 2023 UEFA Champions League? Rank below to be added in the Power Rankings

Related Links:

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• Top 10 South American National Teams – CONMEBOL 2023 Rankings
• Top 10 Asian National Teams – AFC 2023 Rankings
• Top 10 Oceania National Teams – OFC 2023 Rankings