The Champions League is often regarded as the highest standard of football on Earth, where Europe’s elite battle for supremacy.
However, a few duds have sneaked in over the years, with many claiming to be the worst team in Champions League history.
A brand new season of Champions League football is kicking off this week, with the hallowed competition embracing a brand new ‘Swiss Model’ format.
We’ll be taking a look at some of the worst sides to have ever taken part in the tournament.
Worst team in Champions League history – our top 10
To keep things interesting, we won’t just be listing minnows with the lowest points tallies, we’ll also be adding in a few high profile flops from down the years…
10. AC Milan 2021/22
Kicking off our list is AC Milan’s troubled 2021/22 Champions League campaign.
AC Milan are one of the most successful Champions League teams ever, with seven titles.
Much was made of the Rossoneri being drawn alongside Liverpool, who they played against in the 2005 and 2007 finals, as well as strong Atletico Madrid and Porto sides.
Unfortunately, Stefano Pioli’s side did not deliver. They lost their first three matches in a row, and would only manage a draw with Porto and a solitary win against Atleti.
Their early exit did allow them to focus on winning the Scudetto, however.
9. Liverpool 2014/15
In the aforementioned Champions League campaign, Liverpool won all six of their matches, but in 2014/15, it was a very different story.
The six-time winners crashed out of the group stage, with just a solitary win over Ludogorets Razgrad. They were humiliated 3-0 at home by Real Madrid, and embarrassed 1-0 in Basel.
8. Zilina 2010/11
The first of our teams to finish with zero points are Slovakian outfit Zilina.
Zilina, the town, has a population of just 80,000, and the club’s Dubnom stadium can only hold 10,000 spectators.
The Champions League was simply too much for the 2009/10 Slovak champions to handle. They conceded an eye-watering 19 goals, including a 7-0 home defeat to Marseille.
7. Blackburn Rovers 1995/96
There was much excitement about Blackburn Rovers’ Champions League debut. The Lancashire club had just shocked Europe by winning the Premier League, spearheaded by Alan Shearer.
Despite a favourable draw, Rovers’ European adventure was disastrous. They only won their final match, a dead rubber at home to Rosenborg.
They finished a whopping 14 points behind group-topping Spartak Moscow.
6. Levski Sofia 2006/07
The second pointless side on our list is Levski Sofia, who endured a nightmarish group stage in 2006/07.
The Bulgarians were drawn with heavyweights Barcelona and Chelsea, as well as a Werder Bremen side that featured the likes of Torsten Frings, Diego and Miroslav Klose.
Things went very badly for Levski, as they managed to score just once, conceding 17 goals along the way.
5. Spartak Moscow 2002/03
Russian side Spartak Moscow were the first side to have won all of their Champions League group matches (coincidentally in the same group as Blackburn Rovers in 1995/96).
But they have also put up one of the worst performances, with no points in their 2002/03 campaign.
The Russians conceded 18 and scored just one.
5. Dinamo Zagreb 2011/12
Dinamo Zagreb have become a European fixture in recent years, with shock wins over Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal.
But they have also faced some hammerings, such as 2011/12, where they did not win a single point. Ajax, Real Madrid and Lyon all inflicted heavy defeats on the Croats, as they conceded 22 goals.
4. Manchester United 2023/24
The most recent team on our list is Manchester United’s disastrous 2023/24 Champions League campaign.
The Red Devils, who have won three Champions League trophies, were free-scoring with 12 goals for, but were awful at the back. They suffered deeply embarrassing results, such as a 3-2 home loss to Galatasaray and a 4-3 loss in Copenhagen.
United finished rock bottom of their group with just one win, an appalling result given the collective £1,200,000,000 spent on the players’ transfer fees.
3. Dinamo Zagreb 2011/12
Dinamo Zagreb have become a European fixture in recent years, with shock wins over Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal.
But they have also faced some hammerings, such as 2011/12, where they did not win a single point. Ajax, Real Madrid and Lyon all inflicted heavy defeats on the Croats, as they conceded 22 goals.
2. Viktoria Plzen 2022/23
Fortuitously missing out on top spot by just a single goal, are Czech outfit Viktoria Plzen.
The Czech side were the whipping boys of a group of death that included Inter Milan, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and conceded 24 times.
Their saving grace was the five goals they scored.
1. Rangers 2022/23
Also in 2022/23, Rangers officially became the worst team in Champions League history.
Fresh off a 2022 Europa League win, supporters were eager to see their team back on the biggest stage, but they did not pick up a single point.
The nadir came in October 2022. Despite going a goal up early on, Rangers would concede seven to Liverpool at Ibrox. They scored just two goals, but conceded 22.
Rangers’ -20 goal difference is the worst ever recorded in the Champions League group stage.
