Where do PSG rank among Europe's greatest dynasties?

ByAlex Bysouth

BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Some find occurrence saccharine but fleeting, others walk years gathering to the pinnacle, and past determination are those whose lasting glory evolves into a dynasty.

Paris St-Germain statesman their Champions League run connected Wednesday hoping to participate that bracket, attempting to go continental champions for a 3rd successive season.

To people this, we're looking astatine however the Parisians comparison to those clubs who person enjoyed the astir ascendant eras successful European competition.

Some volition constituent retired that shot existed earlier the European Champion Clubs' Cup began successful 1955 - truthful apologies to Stan Cullis' 'world-champion' Wolves outfit and the Mitropa Cup's aboriginal Vienna heavyweights.

However, this apical 10 statement is centred astir winning European football's grandest prize.

10. Paris St-Germain 2024-

OK, consecutive successful with the existent champions, due to the fact that this is simply a dynasty successful the making.

PSG person had a lacklustre commencement to the play - they ever bash this, don't they? However, you wouldn't stake against Luis Enrique's slick broadside adding a 3rd successive European crown travel adjacent summer.

The Parisians person been France's astir ascendant unit since the accomplishment of Qatar Sports Investments 15 years ago, but it took a alteration of attack for the beatified grail of continental occurrence to arrive.

"It's the extremity of the glitter," professed president Nasser Al-Khelaifi aft years of lavish spending, ushering retired the "flashy, bling-bling" era.

Instead, Enrique arrived successful 2023 intent connected gathering a coherent team. There was inactive important investment, but connected younger players who could beryllium moulded by his doctrine and subject portion fixed country to flourish.

The effect was 2 scintillating Champions League triumphs.

9. Inter Milan 1963-65

Talking of discipline. Helenio Herrera, the Argentine-born defender reared successful Casablanca and Paris, had already traversed the dugouts of Atletico Madrid, Malaga, Deportivo and Barcelona earlier landing successful Milan successful 1960.

Herrera acceptable astir implementing his tactical marque of catenaccio astatine San Siro - 1 helium insisted is misremembered arsenic being much antiaircraft than it really was - and processing a ruthless counter-attacking squad known arsenic 'Grande Inter'.

Winning the Scudetto successful 1962-63, Herrera's outfit became the archetypal to assistance the European Cup without losing a crippled the pursuing play arsenic Sandro Mazzola netted doubly against Real Madrid successful the final.

The Italians defended their crown the pursuing year, contempt losing their semi-final archetypal limb astatine Anfield, edging Benfica successful the final. It was the Portuguese giants' 2nd last decision successful 3 seasons. Some whitethorn accidental they were cursed...

8. Benfica 1960-62

The communicative goes that Bela Guttmann, caller from winning the rubric with Porto, rocked up astatine Benfica, sacked each the elder players and promoted a talented clump of younker squad players instead.

Those promising youngsters won the rubric and past went each the mode successful the European Cup, beating Barcelona successful the 1961 final.

That summer, a teenage Eusebio besides joined Guttmann's squad and steered them to European glory erstwhile more, seeing disconnected Tottenham Hotspur successful the semi-final earlier beating the large Real Madrid successful the competition's showpiece.

The legendary Ferenc Puskas scored a first-half hat-trick for the Spaniards, but Eusebio netted doubly aft the interval to seal Benfica a 2nd successive crown.

Guttmann, buoyed by his singular success, near the nine aft not being offered the wage emergence helium felt helium deserved and the curse the Hungarian brag supposedly enactment connected the nine - that they would not triumph different European trophy for 100 years - has go fable.

Whether the often-disputed communicative is existent oregon not, the Lisbon giants person not landed different since - losing 8 European finals, including 3 successful the 1960s.

7. Bayern Munich 1973-76

This was Bayern's coming of age. Emerging from what was a fiercely competitory West German shot scene, the Bavarians - promoted to the Bundesliga little than a decennary earlier - were capable to found themselves arsenic heavyweights successful Europe.

With a backbone of goalkeeper Sepp Maier, marauding sweeper Franz Beckenbauer and the prolific Gerd Muller, and caller disconnected West Germany winning the 1974 World Cup, Bayern clinched 3 connected the bounce, contempt their home signifier dipping.

In fact, Beckenbauer said Bayern were past their highest aft the archetypal European Cup triumph implicit Atletico Madrid, but acquisition carried them done large games.

They beat Leeds successful a arguable final successful Paris, and past saw disconnected Saint-Etienne the pursuing year.

6. Barcelona 2008-12

The teams supra marque the database for their trophy-winning spells. Pep Guardiola's Barcelona were European champions doubly successful 3 years - losing to Jose Mourinho's treble-winning Inter successful betwixt - but their dynasty was built connected much than silverware.

Guardiola lone spent 4 seasons astatine Barcelona, but it was an era-defining tenure, the Catalan giants pioneering a marque of shot that would beryllium celebrated and copied the satellite over.

Perhaps the existent occurrence of a squad is successful its legacy. Guardiola's tiki-taka Barcelona built astir La Masia graduates Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and, of course, Lionel Messi inactive resonates much than a decennary since helium left.

5. AC Milan 1988-1995

Where does this peculiar Milan dynasty commencement and end? It was fuelled, of course, by Silvio Berlusconi, who saved the nine from bankruptcy successful 1986 and appointed the up-and-coming Arrigo Sacchi arsenic boss.

You could reason it continued until a Champions League last decision by a young Ajax broadside successful 1995. In between, the Rossoneri won back-to-back European Cups successful 1989 and '90, past thrashed Cruyff's Barcelona 'Dream Team' successful 1994 aft decision successful the last the erstwhile season.

In fact, the lone campaigns successful which Milan did not scope the last were aft their quarter-final 2nd limb was abandoned due to the fact that of floodlight nonaccomplishment portion trailing Marseille successful 1991. The Serie A giants' refusal to re-enter the transportation for the last minutes of that 1 besides led to them being banned the pursuing year.

From Sacchi to Fabio Capello, done the superb Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard to homegrown stars Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Costacurta - the Italian halfway remaining from that 1989 triumph to the decision by Ajax six years aboriginal - Milan were a phenomenal force.

4. Liverpool 1976-1984

In an epoch of English dominance connected the continent, winning 7 of 8 European Cups betwixt 1977 and 1984, Liverpool's 'Boot Room' boys led the way.

The Reds won 4 of those, Nottingham Forest - who could reason they besides merit a spot connected the database - went back-to-back and Aston Villa completed the haul.

Liverpool's European pedigree truly began erstwhile Bill Shankly's broadside won the Uefa Cup successful 1973, the Reds doing it again 3 years aboriginal nether Shankly's erstwhile adjunct Bob Paisley.

Paisley was capable to present the biggest prize of each the pursuing play successful Rome and, aft Kenny Dalglish was brought successful to regenerate Hamburg-bound Kevin Keegan, retained the European Cup astatine Wembley against Club Brugge successful 1978 - the Scottish guardant netting the winner.

Three years later, aft Brian Clough took Forest to the top, Liverpool were European champions again erstwhile Alan Kennedy's extremity downed Real Madrid successful Paris.

Perhaps astir awesome is however the Anfield outfit were capable to support that occurrence done a bid of managers. The enactment of succession from Shankly to Paisley past landed connected Joe Fagan, who was successful complaint erstwhile they bushed Roma - successful Rome - successful '84. That was earlier the Heysel disaster, and decision by Juventus, the pursuing year.

3. Real Madrid 2013-18

Atletico fans look distant now. Two finals successful 3 years and doubly Diego Simeone's broadside ran into their Madrid rivals, losing successful agonising manner successful some 2014 and 2016.

The 2nd of those besides sparked a three-year winning tally for the astir palmy nine successful European Cup history.

Real Madrid's look was seemingly simple: conception a squad of the world's champion players - spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo - and instrumentality a legendary erstwhile prima successful charge.

Zinedine Zidane's new-era galacticos conscionable felt inevitable - they ever recovered a mode to win, becoming the archetypal nine successful the Champions League epoch not lone to clasp the trophy but to assistance 3 successful a row.

After downing Atletico successful the archetypal of the three-peat, they bushed Juventus and past Liverpool - the second remembered for Gareth Bale's cameo, Loris Karius' blunders and Sergio Ramos leaving his people connected Mo Salah.

2. Ajax 1968-73

Similar to Guardiola's Barcelona, the power of this Ajax broadside was seen acold beyond the trophy cabinet. The lineage of their doctrine - via Johan Cruyff - survives done respective of the clubs connected this list, from Catalonia to Paris.

Rinus Michels was the pioneer, taking Ajax from the menace of relegation to the astir ascendant broadside successful Europe, losing the 1969 last to AC Milan but returning to triumph it for the archetypal clip 2 years aboriginal with their swaggering marque of Total Football.

Michels near for Barcelona connected the backmost of that success, though Stefan Kovacs was capable to clasp the trophy the pursuing twelvemonth and past adhd a 3rd successive European crown to Ajax's heap with an awesome tally that included knocking retired Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and past Juventus successful the final.

Cruyff, astir to triumph the 2nd of his 3 Ballon d'Ors, followed Michels to Barcelona and Ajax's dynasty began to autumn apart. The legacy, however, remains.

1. Real Madrid 1955-60

When it comes to dominance, nary 1 compares to the Real Madrid broadside who stormed to 5 successive European Cup triumphs aft the contention began successful 1955.

With the tourney successful its infancy, it was possibly not considered arsenic imperative by definite nations compared to however Champions League information dominates clubs' thoughts today, but Real Madrid's benignant and occurrence helped to change perceptions.

Alfredo Di Stefano, already a satellite prima by the clip Real bushed Reims successful the inaugural final, was an integral portion of the Spanish giants' success, the legendary Paco Gento likewise a stalwart (he besides won a sixth European Cup successful 1966).

Then, successful 1958, Madrid added Hungarian genius Ferenc Puskas pursuing his two-year prohibition for refusing to instrumentality to Budapest aft the gyration successful 1956.

Puskas was 31 erstwhile helium joined, but scored 35 goals successful 39 European Cup games for Real Madrid, including 4 successful the 7-3 triumph implicit Frankfurt astatine Hampden successful the 1960 final. Di Stefano grabbed the different 3 arsenic Madrid made it 5 connected the spin.