Why only six clubs have UEFA’s Badge of Honour — and which four wear it this season
Six clubs have earned UEFA’s Badge of Honour, but only Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona display it in this season’s Champions League.
Published: 10.09.2026 — The UEFA Champions League displays a separate layer of prestige for a tiny group of clubs that are permitted to wear the official UEFA "Badge of Honour" on their left sleeve. In total six clubs have met the strict conditions to claim the badge, but this Champions League season only four teams carry it: Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona.
What the badge means and how a club earns it
The badge is awarded as recognition for historic achievement in Europe’s top club competition. To qualify for the right to wear it a club must satisfy one of two criteria: either win the European Cup/Champions League five or more times, or win it three years in a row. UEFA introduced the Badge of Honour in the 2000/01 season.
Clubs that meet the five-or-more criterion are Real Madrid (15 titles), Milan (7 titles), Liverpool (6 titles), Bayern (6 titles) and Barcelona (5 titles). Ajax have a special case: with four overall titles, they gained the right through a run of three consecutive European Cups in the early 1970s (1971, 1972, 1973), with their fourth title coming in 1995.
Despite the fact that six clubs hold the right to the badge, not all wear it every season. This campaign only features four badge-wearing sides in the Champions League because Milan and Ajax are competing in the UEFA Europa League; the Badge of Honour is displayed only in Champions League matches.
Among clubs currently outside the group, Inter and Manchester United each have three European Cup/Champions League titles. Paris Saint-Germain is mentioned as a club that could earn the badge by winning three consecutive Champions League titles — a route to the emblem that does not require five overall trophies, as Ajax demonstrated in the 1970s.
When present on the left sleeve during Champions League fixtures, the Badge of Honour serves as a visual reminder of a club’s trophies, tradition and contribution to the evolution of European club football.
Photo: press material from the event
