The FIFA Club World Cup has always been a prize to play for, with clubs raring to win the silverware to be tagged as ‘world champions’. It was a trophy to add to their continental honour, which was the selection process for clubs from different confederations to qualify for the competition in the first place, before it was expanded to 32 teams from 2025. Aside from the inaugural edition, the tournament was played in a straight knockout format annually for 19 editions before being hosted every four years. The Copa Libertadores winners and UEFA Champions League winners began in the semifinals in the old format, which explains their frequent meetings in the Club World Cup final. There has always been a European presence in the showpiece since the merger of the Intercontinental Cup in the 2005 edition, and the continent has also won the trophy 16 times. Only four teams have won it twice, and only four winners are from outside Europe, all of whom are from Brazil.
Here are all the finals played in the FIFA Club World Cup history:
Corinthians 0-0 Vasco da Gama (4-3 on penalties) - 2000
The first Club World Cup final was an all-Brazilian affair between Corinthians and Vasco da Gama, having topped their groups ahead of European heavyweights like Real Madrid and Manchester United, respectively. In front of a crowd of 73,000, the final finished as a 0–0 draw after extra time, but Corinthians prevailed in an intense penalty shootout 4-3 to crown themselves inaugural winners of the competition.
São Paulo 1-0 Liverpool - 2005
European teams would continue to be stunned when the Club World Cup returned after a four-year gap and in a revised format, with the Copa Libertadores champions, São Paulo, defeating the UEFA Champions League winners, Liverpool, in Yokohama. This was the same Reds that did the miracle of Istanbul by coming back from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan in a shootout to clinch the European crown, but were made to sweat against the robust Brazilian side, who created history with the only goal of the final in the 27th minute.
Internacional 1-0 Barcelona - 2006
The Brazilian dominance in the competition prevailed in the next edition, with the Internacional surprising Barcelona through an 82nd-minute winner from Adriano Gabiru. The Catalan giants were full of superstars who won the 2006 UEFA Champions League, including Ronaldinho and the stars who would frame Spain’s dominating era in international football, like Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta. However, they failed to get past Colorado, who celebrated one of the most memorable wins in club history wildly.
Milan 4-2 Boca Juniors - 2007
The competition saw its first European side lifting the silverware in 2007 when AC Milan defeated Boca Juniors in a final filled with goals. The Rossoneri’s iconic striker Filippo Inzaghi scored the opener in the 21st minute, but the Argentinian responded through Rodrigo Palacio’s header only a minute later. Carlo Ancelotti’s side took charge in the second half with Alessandro Nesta blasting in a volley from Andrea Pirlo’s free-kick to retake the lead in the 50th minute. Kaka would double it 10 minutes later before Inzaghi completed his brace in the 71st minute. Pablo Ledesma pulled one back at the death, but the damage was already done. The South American dominance in the Club World Cup came to an end with this result and the power dynamics now shifted to the European sides.
Manchester United 1-0 LDU Quito - 2008
Manchester United’s only Club World Cup trophy came in the year they won their last UEFA Champions League title. Managed by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils faced Ecuadorian outfit LDU Quito in the final, who put up a strong defensive display. They even gave the Premier League giants some worrying moments and tested Van der Sar with the score 0-0. Ultimately, the difference in quality was evident as Wayne Rooney scored a brilliant goal in the 73rd minute, making them the first English side to win the tournament.
Barcelona 2-1 Estudiantes (AET) - 2009
Willing to avenge their loss in their first Club World Cup final, Barcelona know they couldn’t repeat the same mistake as they took on the Argentinian side Estudiantes in the 2009 edition final. However, the horrors of the previous final defeat came alive when the South American champions took the lead in the 37th minute with a cracking header from Mauro Boselli. Pep Guardiola’s side threw the kitchen sink next and got their reward on the brink of 90 minutes when the clutch player for the finals, Pedro Rodriguez, popped up with a match-saving header to force extra time. Barcelona found the winner five minutes into the second period of extra time, with Lionel Messi scoring through a deft touch from his chest to hand his side the first Club World Cup trophy.
Inter 3-0 TP Mazembe - 2010
Till now, the final of the Club World Cup has always been a matchup between European champions and South American winners, but the 2010 edition saw a break in that trend. CAF Champions League winners TP Mazembe became the surprise package of that edition as they stormed through the final by beating Pachuca in the quarterfinals and then stunning Copa Libertadores winners Internacional in the last four. However, Jose Mourinho’s sensational Inter Milan was too much for them as the surprise Champions League winners beat them 3-0 comfortably in the showpiece with goals from Goran Pandev, Samuel Eto’o and Jonathan Biabany.
Barcelona 4-0 Santos - 2011
Barcelona returned to the Club World Cup courtesy of winning their third Champions League in the space of six years, facing Copa Libertadores winners Santos in the final. The upcoming talent and future Barcelona star, Neymar, battled with club icon Lionel Messi, with the latter having the last laugh of the evening. Unlike the previous finals, the Catalan giants hit their full gear this time with their Argentinian superstar scoring a resounding brace and Xavi and Cesc Fabregas getting one goal each for a huge 4-0 win to land their second Club World Cup title.
Corinthians 1-0 Chelsea - 2012
The 2012 Club World Cup saw Brazilian flair return to the fore with Corinthians stunning Champions League winners Chelsea in the final. Peru’s record goal-scorer, Paolo Guerrero, scored the only goal of the memorable win, but the hero of the match was their goalkeeper, Cassio, who made countless saves to deny the Blues and keep his side in the game. This was the last time a Copa Libertadores winner was crowned world champion.
Bayern Munich 2-0 Raja Casablanca - 2013
The next edition saw Raja Casablanca become the second African team to reach the Club World Cup final and they were up against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, who were pursuing the first title of the competition. The Bavarians sealed the honour in style, wasting little time to get on the scoresheet with Dante putting the side ahead inside seven minutes and Thiago Alcantara wrapping up the victory in the 22nd minute.
Real Madrid 2-0 San Lorenzo - 2014
Real Madrid’s first taste of the Club World Cup in the competition’s inaugural edition was unsuccessful. So, when Los Blancos returned to the tournament in 2014 after winning La Decima or the 10th Champions League crown, they made sure to secure the prize at the end. The equalising goal-scorer in ṭhat dramatic European final win against Atletico Madrid, Sergio Ramos, gave his side the lead with another textbook header from a corner. Gareth Bale sealed destiny in the 51st minute to ensure another title triumph for Real Madrid.
Barcelona 3-0 River Plate - 2015
Arguably the best attacking trio in football history, Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez showed their magic on the world stage in the 12th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup as they took on one of Argentina’s most successful clubs in River Plate in the final. Messi’s delicate finish gave the Champions League winners the lead in the 36th minute before the Uruguayan goal-machine took charge, scoring a neat brace in the second half. This was also the first time all three individual prizes in a single tournament went to players of the same team. Suarez won the Golden Ball with five goals, Messi took the Silver, while the Bronze was awarded to Andrés Iniesta.
Real Madrid 4-2 Kashima Antlers (AET) - 2016
Barcelona’s rivals, Real Madrid, established an unprecedented feat of winning the Club World Cup for three straight editions, with no side managing to win it back-to-back times before, let alone doing a three-peat. The first of the treble final in 2016 was a memorable one as the Spanish giants faced the first Asian team to grace the showpiece of the competition, Kashima Antlers. They entered the competition only as hosts and began from the first round, making their journey all the more remarkable. The J-League side also came close to causing a huge shock when Gaku Shibasaki scored a brace to cancel Karim Benzema’s ninth-minute opener in the final. Then, as he often does, Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue for the side by scoring the leveller on the hour mark from the spot, awarded by VAR, with the technology being used in the tournament for the first time. The game went to extra time, where the Portuguese football icon completed a hat-trick to draw curtains to a dramatic final.
Real Madrid 1-0 Grêmio - 2017
While the second straight Club World Cup final did not produce a goal-fest, with Gremio showing a fine defensive show, Real Madrid sneaked a 1-0 victory to equal their Catalan rivals’ Club World Cup trophies with three. It was their marksman, Ronaldo, who delivered again on the big occasions with a fabulous free-kick in the 53rd minute after Luka Modric went close twice and his shot was saved onto the post in the previous attempt. Ronaldo had the ball in the net again later on in the game, but it was chalked off for an offside in the build-up.
Real Madrid 4-1 Al-Ain - 2018
Los Blancos returned to their goal-scoring mood in the following year to become the outright winners in Club World Cup history. Al-Ain stood no chance against the force they were facing with Modric, Marcos Llorente and Sergio Ramos getting on ṭhe scoresheet with Yahia Nader’s own goal adding a fourth and stamping Tsukasa Shiotani’s 86th minute strike as nothing more than a consolation. Real Madrid under club legend Zinedine Zidane, completed something that will be hard to replicate in the future.
Liverpool 1-0 Flamengo (AET) - 2019
Liverpool, managed by Jürgen Klopp, became the first English team to reach multiple Club World Cups, this time with an eagerness to win it. The six-time Champions League winners were denied in their first attempt back in the second edition of the competition against a Brazilian side. However, there was no upset this time, facing another team from the footballing nation, Flamengo, even though they were made to work hard for it. After Firmino was denied twice, ballooning a close chance over and striking the post, the Brazilian made amends with a 99th-minute winner to finally get their hands on the silverware.
Bayern Munich 1-0 UANL - 2020
The 2020 Club World Cup saw a first Mexican side, Tigres UANL, qualify for the final as the CONCACAF Champions League winners defeated Asian champions Ulsan and, incredibly, Copa Libertadores winners, Palmeiras, to reach this stage of the competition. They became a hard nut to crack for their opposition, Bayern Munich, who struck the post twice and also saw Joshua Kimmich’s goal ruled out for offside after a VAR check. Benjamin Pavard slotting in the unguarded net in the second half was also flagged offside, but the VAR once again overturned the on-field decision in favour of Bayern this time. That remained the only goal of the game as the German powerhouses lifted their second Club World Cup trophy.
Chelsea 2-1 Palmeiras (AET) - 2021
Chelsea had a dark horse story in their 2021 Champions League triumph and it gave them a chance to write the wrongs in the Club World Cup. Like the 2012 final, the Blues went head-to-head with a Brazilian side, Palmerias, for the prize. It took them 54th minutes to break the stubborn Verdão defence with Romelu Lukaku’s belting header, although the lead was cut off just 10 minutes later. Raphael Vega brought parity to the game with an excellent penalty by wrong-footing Chelsea’s keeper Edouard Mendy. However, the Blues held their nerves and, with penalties beckoning, Kai Havertz delivered the winner from the spot in the 117th minute to secure the last trophy in Roman Abrahmovic’s ownership of the club.
Real Madrid 5-3 Al-Hilal - 2022
Real Madrid returned to the world stage after winning their 14th Champions League title in 2022. Little did they expect their Club World Cup final against Asian Champions League record winners Al Hilal would turn into an eight-game thriller. Not when the Los Blancos went 2-0 up within 20 minutes of the game, with Vinícius Jr and Federico Valverde scoring their first of the two goals, with Benzema adding the other. Former Atletico Madrid player Luciano Vietto’s brace in the second half did not yield the desired result in the end. However, it was a good showing from Al Hilal in the highest-scoring final ever recorded in the Club World Cup final, which was won by Real to take their record tally to five titles.
Manchester City 4-0 Fluminense - 2023
The final edition of the Club World Cup was held in a straight knockout format, with Manchester City lifting the trophy in December 2023 after securing their first Champions League title earlier that year. Fluminense also won their first Copa Libertadores title in the club’s 122-year history, but they were no match for the Premier League heavyweights. Julian Alvarez scored a brace, with Phil Foden scoring the third after Nino’s own goal to secure a 4-0 victory in one of the most one-sided finals in competition history.
