In April 2024, Artificial Intelligence predicted every Champions League winner until 2103, and Premier League giants Arsenal were surprisingly not on the list.
According to the list, 39 clubs get their hands on the coveted prize, including all of the Gunners’ top six rivals. Manchester City pick up five crowns, Liverpool three, Chelsea two, and Manchester United one. Even Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham win a Champions League before they do.
Since the competition was formed back in 1955, only 23 clubs have won it. Real Madrid are the most successful team with 15 titles, seven ahead of second place AC Milan, while Liverpool and Bayern Munich have both won it six times.
Taking all that history into account, AI made their predictions which included some surprising takes, including picking Brentford as a future winner. It has not made a great start with its first two tips though, as Barcelona were called to win it in 2024 but La Liga rivals Real Madrid actually claimed that title, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final. And then, for 2024/25, Manchester United have been named as the winner, but having not qualified for the competition, this will not happen.
The Major Winners
Real Madrid are set to win it 10 times
AI have predicted that Spanish giants Real Madrid will win the tournament 10 more times before 2103, with half of the titles coming five seasons in a row between 2094/95 and 2097/98.
Their bitter rivals Barcelona have been predicted to win the competition four times (although that first title in 2024 has already gone to Los Blancos instead). The club’s last success in Europe came in 2015 when they defeated Serie A side Juventus 3-1.
Jurgen Klopp left Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, meaning the Merseyside outfit will head into their next Champions League campaign with Arne Slot calling the shots. It supposedly won’t take long before the Premier League side are kings of Europe once again either, as they’re predicted to triumph in the competition in 2027. Between then and 2103, the English giants have been tipped to win the tournament two more times (2038 and 2083).
As mentioned before, Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United have been predicted to be crowned champions for this season, with the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era getting off the best way possible. In reality, they will instead hope to win the Europa League, having only qualified for that after winning the FA Cup.
AI have foreseen that Manchester City will win the Champions League five times, including back-to-back titles in 2028 and 2029. Chelsea’s last triumph in Europe came back in 2021 when they defeated City in Porto. However, the Blues faithful will have to wait until 2046 before their next win in the competition. Their only other success will come nine years later, in 2055.
The Surprise Packages
Brentford, as well as European minnows Sheriff, Malmo, and Ferencvaros taste victory
In total, nine English teams get their hands on the coveted prize. Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest scoop two wins each, while, surprisingly, Brentford, Wolves and Leicester City also join the aforementioned sides.
The Foxes have only been in the Champions League once in their history, coming in the 2016/17 campaign – where they were eventually knocked out of the quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid. Despite being in the Championship at the time of the prediction, AI tipped the former Premier League winners will win Europe’s elite in 2058 – at least they have since been promoted to the English top flight.
Scottish football enjoys some success in the 2060s, with Rangers winning twice (2068 and 2069) and Celtic adding to their 1967 elation. Two slight shocks see Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt and Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb win the Champions League in 2092 and 2102 respectively.
That said, the biggest surprises of the list see European minnows Sheriff, Malmo, and Ferencvaros bring joy to their fans. The biggest result in Sheriff’s history in the competition came in 2021, when they defeated Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. However, they’ve never made it past the Group Stage – but are expected to triumph in 2086.
The closest Malmo have come to a European title was back in 1979 when they lost to Nottingham Forest in the final. Fans of the Swedish outfit will still have to wait another 22 years before the club finally strikes gold in Europe’s top competition.
Since the rebranding of the competition in 1992, Hungarian side Ferencvaros have only reached the Group Stage twice. Their poor record in the Champions League is set to come to an end in 2056 – when they finally win the coveted prize.