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When it comes to the Champions League, Real Madrid have quite the grip on the competition. The Spanish giants have more or less owned the trophy in recent times, winning the last three seasons in succession. Real also won it in 2013-14, so it's only Barcelona's intervention in 2014-15 that has interrupted a possible five years of complete and utter dominance.
It's some achievement to impact upon such a strong competition in this way, though historically, Real have always thrived in the Champions League (and previously, when it was known simply as the European Cup). The Madrid club have achieved the most competition wins of all time, with 13 – nearly double that of the next best-placed. Italian club Milan have seven wins.
So, as the 2018-19 Champions League campaign begins, surely the big question is this: can Real Madrid win it again? And who can stop them from a fourth consecutive glory? Let's take a look at five potential contenders who could knock Real off their throne.
Manchester City
The logical choice, City are rightfully considered one of the odds-on favourites to win the Champions League and it's easy to understand why. Pep Guardiola's team blew away the competition in the Premier League last season, hitting the magical 100-point mark. In terms of domestic football, no-one could keep pace with him. However, the Champions League is a different story. The draw for the group stage has been relatively kind to City - Group F opponents are Shakhtar Donetsk, Lyon and Hoffenheim – but the competition hasn't always been kind to Guardiola. He won it twice with Barcelona but failed to guide Bayern Munich to success in three seasons there and hasn't got beyond the quarter-finals in two attempts with City. The nightmare of losing 5-1 to Liverpool in the last eight in 2017-18 may still linger.
Barcelona
The very last club Real will want to see succeed them is Barcelona, long-established rivals in La Liga as well as the Champions League. Nevertheless, Barcelona are likely to be contenders but the Catalan club have a difficult enough task just getting out of their group. It's a tough draw. Barcelona are in Group B, and must play Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan. Assuming PSV are the weakest of the quartet, that still leaves three very strong teams competing for two qualifying spots. Ernesto Valverde's team opened its La Liga season with victories over Real Sociedad, Valladolid and a thumping 8-2 romp against Huesca, so they have started the season in typically good form.
Juventus
What do Juventus have this season that they didn't have before? Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, who's been an influential figure in all of those Real Madrid Champions League triumphs. Ronaldo made the switch from Spain to Italy in the summer, and even at 33 years of age, he still has plenty to offer. While he's likely to find it tougher to score as frequently in Serie A as La Liga – he's too good to fail, and the Champions League is his favourite competition. Juventus will be hoping Ronaldo can nudge them over the line to win the trophy. They haven't actually won it since 1996 and have lost two finals in the last four years.
Paris Saint-Germain
This, surely, is what PSG have been spending all that money for in recent years, isn't it? Never mind Ligue 1, which they could more or less win with their collective eyes shut, given the outrageous quality in their squad. The Paris club really do need to step it up and make an impact in this competition. They've added legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to their squad, have a wealth of options in defence and midfield, and the brilliant attacking trio of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe to call on – not to mention Julian Draxler, too. At the group stages, they meet Napoli and Liverpool. Time to show their class.
Bayern Munich
Don't overlook Bayern Munich, the consistently strong Bundesliga club that won this trophy in 2013, edging out Borussia Dortmund. Bayern will be happy with their Group E draw. Pitting them against Benfica, Ajax and AEK of Greece will hold few fears, so they'll probably breeze through to the knockout stages. The loss of talented winger Kingsley Coman, who will probably miss the start of the Champions League campaign, is a blow but the Bayern squad has bags of ability. It will be interesting to see how much of an influence Serge Gnabry - the former Arsenal forward – has after being recalled from loan spells. Put it this way, it will take a good team to beat Bayern.
Make no mistake, even without their talismanic Ronaldo, Real will be among the contenders but the Spanish superclub know there are a host of rivals aiming to stop them winning the Champions League yet again.
