The most talked-about championships played in 2025

In England, Liverpool won the Premier League again for the first time since 2020, equaling Manchester United’s record of 20 titles as the competition’s most successful club. The campaign was marked by overwhelming dominance in the first part of the season, with Salah in inspired form, and the fans celebrating at Anfield, something that didn’t happen after their last victory due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In cup competitions, Newcastle and Crystal Palace fans experienced great moments. The Magpies won the League Cup, ending a 70-year drought without trophies. Meanwhile, the Londoners took home the FA Cup and the Community Shield, securing the first two titles in the club’s history.

Barcelona dominated Spanish football and gave Real Madrid no room to maneuver. Los Blaugrana won La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, and the Copa del Rey, all against their biggest rivals. The standout players were Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, who led the team to the three titles that crowned Barça’s season.

In Saudi Arabia, Al-Ittihad was the star of 2025. Led by Karim Benzema and Fabinho, the Jeddah-based team won both the league and the cup in the same season. In the Saudi Championship, the Tigers amassed 83 points, eight more than Al-Hilal, securing their tenth consecutive title. In the Saudi King’s Cup, they defeated Al-Qadsiah 3-1 to lift the trophy for the 10th time.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami had a great year, winning their first-ever MLS title. The Argentine star’s team defeated Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in the final. Messi was named the league’s best player after contributing 35 goals and 24 assists. In the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, Nashville beat Austin FC 2-1 to win the title for the first time.

• Italy: Serie A – Napoli / Coppa Italia – Bologna

• France: Ligue 1 – PSG / French Cup – PSG

• Germany: Bundesliga – Bayern Munich / DFB-Pokal – Stuttgart

• Portugal: Portuguese League – Sporting / Portuguese Cup – Sporting

After the league phase in 2024, the Champions League entered 2025 with two teams leading the table as favorites: Liverpool and Barcelona. However, in the knockout stage, PSG, who were almost eliminated in the new phase of the competition, appeared in the knockout rounds and eliminated the Reds at Anfield in the round of 16. Meanwhile, Barça overcame Benfica and Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively.

The tournament’s most successful team, Real Madrid, fell in the quarterfinals to Arsenal. Similarly, Bayern Munich fell to Inter Milan at the same stage of the competition. PSG and Aston Villa played great matches, but the Parisian team prevailed and advanced to the semifinals.

In the semi-finals, led by Dembélé and Hakimi, PSG won both games against Arsenal (1-0 and 2-1) and qualified for the final. In the other bracket, Inter Milan and Barcelona played unforgettable matches, with a 3-3 draw in Spain and a 4-3 victory in Milan, which qualified the Nerazzurri for the final at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.

In the final, PSG gave Inter no chance and, with goals from Hakimi, two from Doué, Kvaratskhelia and Mayulu, won 5-0 and conquered the Champions League for the first time in its history.

Still on the European scene, the Europa League was marked by an all-English final, between two teams that had poor campaigns in the Premier League. On one side, Tottenham, 17th in the English Championship, eliminated AZ Alkmaar (round of 16), Frankfurt (quarter-finals) and Bodø/Glimt (semi-final). On the other, Manchester United, 15th in the Premier League, overcame Real Sociedad (round of 16), Lyon (quarter-finals) and Athletic Bilbao (semi-final).

In the final, at San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain, Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0, with a goal from Brennan Johnson, and won the competition for the second time in its history. The title ended a 17-year drought without trophies for Spurs.

In the Conference League, Chelsea confirmed their status as favorites and won the title. The Blues defeated Copenhagen (round of 16), Legia Warsaw (quarter-finals), Djurgårdens IF (semi-finals), and Real Betis 4-1 in the final. This victory cemented the London club’s status as champions of all UEFA titles (Champions League, Europa League, Conference League, UEFA Super Cup, and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup).

With the growth of the Saudi Arabian Championship, clubs from the Middle Eastern country are increasingly present in the later stages of the Asian Champions League. In 2025, Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, and Al-Nassr reached the semi-finals of the competition. The other team present in that stage was Kawasaki Frontale from Japan.

In the matches, Al-Ahli beat Al-Hilal 3-1 and Kawasaki Frontale, playing away, defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr 3-2. In the final, Galeno and Frank Kessié scored for the Saudi team, who won 2-0 and conquered the continental competition for the first time in their history.

In North America, Mexican teams and MLS teams dominated. From the quarterfinals onwards, only clubs from these two leagues, the richest in the northern part of the American continent, participated. The title went to Cruz Azul, who won the competition for the seventh time by defeating Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 in the final. Inter Miami was eliminated in the semifinals by Thomas Müller’s team after suffering two defeats, 2-0 and 3-1.

Between June and July, the first edition of the FIFA Club World Cup was held in the United States. The group stage draw featured several matches between European and South American teams, notably Flamengo vs. Chelsea, Fluminense vs. Borussia Dortmund, Palmeiras vs. Porto, Boca Juniors vs. Bayern Munich, and Botafogo vs. PSG vs. Atlético de Madrid.

On the field, several results caught the eye, especially the victories of Botafogo and Flamengo over PSG and Chelsea by 1-0 and 3-1, respectively.

In the standings, Palmeiras and Flamengo stood out, finishing first in their respective groups, and Botafogo advanced in second place, while Atlético de Madrid was eliminated. Another European team that exited the competition early was Porto, which only managed two points in Group A. River Plate and Boca Juniors also left the competition in the group stage.

The knockout stage began with a duel between Brazilian teams, in which Palmeiras beat Botafogo 1-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals to face Chelsea, who thrashed Benfica 4-1. In the same group, Fluminense defeated Inter Milan 2-0 and also continued in the competition. Their opponent was Al-Hilal, who overcame Manchester City 4-3 in one of the best matches of the tournament.

On the other side, Flamengo was eliminated after being defeated 4-2 by Bayern Munich. The Bavarians went on to face PSG, who thrashed Inter Miami 4-0. Real Madrid, in a discreet campaign, beat Juventus 1-0 and went on to face Borussia Dortmund, who beat Monterrey 2-1.

In the quarterfinals, Chelsea and Palmeiras played a great game, in which Estêvão, who would later play for the Blues, scored the equalizer for Palmeiras. However, with an own goal by Weverton and another by Cole Palmer, the Londoners won 2-1 and advanced to face Fluminense. The Rio de Janeiro team beat Al-Hilal 2-1 and established itself as the non-European team to go furthest in the competition.

In the other bracket, Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a thrilling final stretch of the game. PSG overcame Bayern Munich with a 2-0 victory. In the semifinals, the Parisians dominated the Spanish team, winning 4-0 to reach the final. The match between Chelsea and Fluminense was marked by the “former player’s curse” of striker João Pedro, who had just arrived at the English club and scored both of Chelsea’s goals in the duel.

In New Jersey, PSG and Chelsea took to the field in search of becoming the first champion of the competition. In the first half, Cole Palmer broke his scoring drought, and with two goals and an assist for João Pedro, also in the first half, the Blues opened up a 3-0 lead and secured the title. The French team tried to react in the second half, but couldn’t find the net. Thus, Chelsea were crowned world champions.

The tournament’s top scorer title was split between Ángel Di María of Benfica, Marcos Leonardo of Al-Hilal, Serhou Guirassy of Borussia Dortmund, and Gonzalo García of Real Madrid, who each scored four goals. Cole Palmer of Chelsea was named the tournament’s best player.

In September, Pyramids (African champions) and Auckland City (Oceania champions) kicked off the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. In the match, the Egyptian team won 3-0 and advanced to face Al-Ahli (Asian champions) in the Africa-Asia-Pacific Cup, held in the same month, with the African champions winning 3-1 in a match played in Saudi Arabia.

Months later, in December, the Derby of the Americas took place between Flamengo (Libertadores champion) and Cruz Azul (Concacaf Champions League champion). With two goals from Arrascaeta, Flamengo won 2-1 and went on to face Pyramids in the Challenger Cup. In that match, the four-time South American champions won 2-0 and advanced to the Intercontinental Cup final against PSG.

In the match, PSG took the lead with a goal from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the first half. However, after the break, Flamengo improved and equalized with a goal from Jorginho from a penalty kick. The tie persisted until the end of regulation time and extra time, and the decision was made in a penalty shootout. In the shootout, the star of the match was Russian goalkeeper Matvei Safonov, who saved penalties from Saúl, Pedro, Léo Pereira, and Luiz Araújo to give Paris Saint-Germain the title with a 2-1 victory.