UEFA Super Cup Stats: Why Most People Get the Records Wrong

UEFA Super Cup Stats: Why Most People Get the Records Wrong

You’d think the UEFA Super Cup is just a glorified friendly, right? A summer exhibition to show off new signings before the real season kicks off. Honestly, that's what a lot of casual fans think. But when you look at the actual uefa super cup stats, it's clear this game is a massive legacy builder for the biggest clubs in the world.

Think about it. We just saw Paris Saint-Germain edge out Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 on penalties in the 2025 edition after a wild 2-2 draw. That wasn't just a "friendly." It was Luis Enrique securing his second Super Cup title as a manager, joining the elite ranks of guys like Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.

The Super Cup has changed a lot since it started as a two-legged affair back in the 70s. It’s moved from a home-and-away format to a neutral-site spectacle, and the records have followed suit.

The Kings of the Competition

Real Madrid. Who else? After their 2-0 victory over Atalanta in 2024, Los Blancos officially became the most successful team in the history of the competition. They now hold six titles. Before that win, they were tied at five with AC Milan and Barcelona.

Barcelona is an interesting case in the uefa super cup stats books. They’ve won it five times, sure, but they’ve also lost it four times. They share that "most losses" record with Sevilla, who have basically turned losing this specific final into an art form. Sevilla has been there seven times and only won once—way back in 2006.

Winningest Clubs (By the Numbers)

  • Real Madrid: 6 Titles (2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2024)
  • AC Milan: 5 Titles (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007)
  • Barcelona: 5 Titles (1992, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2015)
  • Liverpool: 4 Titles (1977, 2001, 2005, 2019)
  • Atletico Madrid: 3 Titles (2010, 2012, 2018)

Notice anything about Atletico? They have a 100% win rate. Three appearances, three trophies. They are basically the final boss of this competition.

Coaching Greatness: The Ancelotti Era

If we’re talking about managers, Carlo Ancelotti is the undisputed GOAT. He has won the trophy five times as a coach. Two with Milan and three with Real Madrid. If you count his win as a player for Milan in 1990, the man has six Super Cup medals in his drawer.

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Pep Guardiola isn't far behind with four wins. But here is the cool part: Pep is the only manager to win the trophy with three different clubs (Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City). Most managers are lucky to win it once, yet these two keep treating it like a personal hobby.

Player Records You Probably Didn't Know

Everyone asks about the top scorers. You’d expect to see Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi at the top, and they are—sort of. There's actually a massive tie for the all-time leading scorer.

Radamel Falcao, Oleg Blokhin, Gerd Müller, Lionel Messi, and Rob Rensenbrink all have three goals. Falcao is the only one to do it in a single game, though. His hat-trick against Chelsea in 2012 was absolutely terrifying. He basically dismantled a European champion by himself in 45 minutes.

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On the appearance side, Paolo Maldini and Dani Alves used to hold the record for most final wins by a player (four each). But with the recent dominance of Real Madrid, guys like Dani Carvajal and Luka Modric have been busy rewriting those sections of the uefa super cup stats history.

The "Monaco Years" vs. The Modern Era

For a long time—15 years to be exact—the Super Cup lived at the Stade Louis II in Monaco. From 1998 to 2012, it was the permanent home of the match. It gave the cup a very specific, glitzy, end-of-summer vibe.

Since 2013, UEFA has moved it around. We’ve seen games in Prague, Cardiff, Tbilisi, and even Tallinn. The 2025 match was in Udine, Italy, and the 2026 edition is headed to the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria. This traveling circus has definitely helped the attendance numbers. In 2015, over 51,000 people showed up in Georgia to watch Barcelona beat Sevilla 5-4. That remains the highest attendance for a single-match final.

Does the Champions League Winner Always Win?

There’s a common misconception that the Champions League winner just walks over the Europa League (or Cup Winners' Cup) winner.

The stats say otherwise. While the UCL winners have the edge, it’s closer than you’d think. Since the match became a single-game final in 1998, the Europa League winners have pulled off some massive upsets. Atletico Madrid beating Real Madrid 4-2 in 2018 or Galatasaray toppling the Galacticos in 2000 are prime examples.

Honestly, the "lesser" team often plays like they have more to prove. For the UCL winners, it’s a victory lap. For the Europa League winners, it’s their chance to prove they belong at the top table.

Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts

If you are looking to understand the trend of these matches for future viewing or analysis, keep these three things in mind:

  1. Watch the Extra Time: Since 2013, a huge percentage of these games have gone to extra time or penalties. The 2025, 2023, 2021, 2020, and 2019 editions all needed more than 90 minutes to find a winner.
  2. Spanish Dominance is Real: Teams from Spain have won the trophy 17 times. No other country is even close. Italy has 9 and England has 10. If a Spanish team is in the final, the odds are heavily in their favor.
  3. New Signings Matter: Managers almost always use this game to blood their biggest summer signing. We saw Kylian Mbappe score on his debut in the 2024 Super Cup. If you want to see how a team's new tactical shape looks, this is the most "real" data point you get before the league starts.

Keep an eye on the 2026 match in Salzburg. Based on the current uefa super cup stats, we are likely looking at a high-scoring affair that will probably go deep into the night.