The Premier League has had 16 Champions League finalists from 1999 onwards, when Manchester United ushered in an era of English success on the European stage following a lengthy drought.
England has had 16 finalists from then on, a tally only Spain can match - and no other nation can match the Premier League's six different clubs to make it to the final in that time.
Here's the pick of those sides, rated according to performance in the Champions League that season only and nothing else (so shut up, 1999 Man Utd fans)...and with seven English winners, we'll start with the three most convincing runners-up.
10. Manchester United, 2010-11
Were it not for an imperious Barcelona standing in their way, there’s every chance United’s best post-Cristiano Ronaldo campaign would have seen them lift the trophy.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men conceded just one group stage goal, and just three more across six knockout fixtures against Marseille, Chelsea and Schalke, before coming up against one of the best teams in Champions League history at Wembley.
Wayne Rooney's response to Pedro's opener meant it was 1-1 at the break, but there was no doubt about who the better side had been. Lionel Messi and David Villa struck after the break to offer confirmation.
9. Manchester City, 2020-21
City could hardly have been more dominant last season, winning 11 of their first 12 Champions League outings and drawing the other one.
Winning both legs of a semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain isn’t something you do if you aren’t a great side.
But then they had to go and spoil it all by losing the final against Chelsea, showing just how fine these margins really are.
8. Arsenal, 2005-06
The 2006 Champions League final is the biggest 'what-if' in Arsenal's history. Specifically: what would have happened if goalkeeper Jens Lehmann had not been shown a straight red card after just 18 minutes?
Arsenal had won five out of six in the groups and beaten Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal without conceding a single goal to get to the final; there was every reason to believe they could have beaten a Barcelona side who were not yet the dominant team they would later become.
Even Barcelona's Ludovic Giuly felt it was the wrong decision. As a reminder, the controversy was that although Lehmann had clearly committed a last-man foul on Samuel Eto'o that warranted a red card, Giuly had put the loose ball into the empty net...only to discover the referee had bizarrely decided not to play advantage.
Ten-man Arsenal took the lead through Sol Campbell anyway, only for Eto'o and Juliano Belletti to score in the final 15 minutes and win it 2-1. Those two strikes accounted for half the goals the unlucky Gunners conceded all tournament long.
7. Chelsea, 2011-12
There’s an argument that this Chelsea side might have been a place below some of the runners-up, but we’re judging them on their European exploits rather than the dismal league campaign under André Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo.
While there's no doubt this was far from the greatest ever Chelsea side, their semi-final efforts at Camp Nou with 10 men will live long in the memory, and we shouldn’t overlook a win in the final at the opposition’s ground.
Sometimes you need that little bit of luck along the way, but Didier Drogba scoring late equalisers against Bayern Munich and Petr Cech pulling it out the bag in the penalty shootout doesn't hurt either.
6. Liverpool, 2004-05
Sure, the group stage performances underwhelmed, but Liverpool were on fire in the knockout stages in 2004-05, and not just in the final comeback against Milan.
Wins in both legs against a Bayer Leverkusen side who finished above Real Madrid in their group, followed by that famous defensive display against Juventus and then a triumph - albeit a controversial one - against one of the best teams around in José Mourinho’s first Chelsea champions.
There’s doing it the hard way and then there’s this.
5. Chelsea, 2020-21
It wasn’t just under Thomas Tuchel that the Blues impressed in 2020/21, with Frank Lampard’s squad thriving at the group stage even as they floundered in their domestic duties to prompt that mid-season managerial change.
They conceded just four times in 13 continental games, most memorably putting four past Europa League holders Sevilla away from home, and they stopped Atletico Madrid and Manchester City during periods when few others weren't getting close.
This triumph was summed up by the decisive goalscorer in the final. Kai Havertz was not exactly a huge success at Stamford Bridge, but he got his moment against City.
4. Manchester United, 1998-99
The late comeback at Camp Nou in the 1999 final takes a little bit away from the sort of European run which any champion would be proud of.
No one beat Man United over 90 minutes in that season’s competition, and a return of 20 goals in six group games - followed by a generally tighter run of results in the knockouts - exemplified what '90s Man United were all about.
Winning the whole thing while staying on brand is tougher than it looks.
3. Liverpool, 2018-19
While Liverpool’s progress from the group stage hung in the balance, it’s hard to think of too many teams performing better in the knockout stages of a club competition
They were one of just two teams to beat Bayern Munich in the second half of the season, the only team to beat Porto twice in 2019, and the comeback against Barcelona speaks for itself.
We shouldn’t overlook the formality of the final, too - it takes a truly great champion for its success to never feel under threat over the course of 90 minutes.
2. Manchester United, 2007-08
Were it not for a run of poor fortune in the FA Cup exit to Portsmouth, this Man United team could easily have ended the season with a deserved treble and a better one than their 1998-99 counterparts.
2007-08 was predominantly the season of Ronaldo, but it was also a campaign during which just two players scored knockout goals against Fergie’s men - Karim Benzema in the last 16 and then Frank Lampard in the final.
In the interim, Man United played more than 500 minutes without conceding a goal… including 180 against a Roma side which beat Real Madrid home and away and another 180 against a Barcelona team which would win the 2008-09 competition at a canter.
1. Manchester City, 2022-23
Yes, we do remember that we said we're basing this on European performance only. But genuinely, the fact it was part of a treble has nothing to do with it.
City eased through the group stage, winning 4-0 away to Sevilla and 5-0 at home to FC Copenhagen along the way. They battered RB Leipzig 8-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, including a 7-0 romp at the Etihad. Bayern Munich were as good as done in the first leg of the quarters as City won 3-0 at home. And then Real Madrid, who won it in both years either side, were soundly thumped 4-0 in the second leg of the semis to book a place in the final.
Inter made things much more difficult in the final in Istanbul, where Rodri's goal was the only difference; but Guardiola's side had more than proved their credentials long before then.
