FIFA Club of the Century

FIFA Club of the Century was an award presented by FIFA to decide the best football club of the 20th century.^[1][2] Real Madrid was the winner of the award with 42.35% of the vote, announced at the annual FIFA World gala, held in Rome on 11 December 2000. Madrid was the most successful club in international football at the time, having amassed eight European Cups, two UEFA Cups, two Latin Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.^[3]

FIFA Club of the Century trophy, exhibited at the Real Madrid Museum.

During the ceremony, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Florentino Pérez collected the trophy which was presented to Real Madrid.^[4][5] For the 2006–07 season a crest was added to Real Madrid's shirts, commemorating their status as FIFA Club of the Century.^[6]

Results

The voting system used for the award, was restricted to subscribers of the bi-monthly FIFA World Magazine (FIFA's official magazine).^[7]

FIFA Club of the Century rankings^[8]

Rank	Club	Country	%
1	Real Madrid	Spain	42.35%
2	Manchester United	England	9.69%
3	Bayern Munich	Germany	9.18%
4	Barcelona	Spain	5.61%
5	Ajax	Netherlands	5.10%
	Santos	Brazil
7	Juventus	Italy	2.55%
8	Peñarol	Uruguay	2.04%
9	AC Milan	Italy	1.53%
	Flamengo	Brazil
	River Plate	Argentina
12	Arsenal	England	1.02%
	Benfica	Portugal
	Boca Juniors	Argentina
	Botafogo	Brazil
	Independiente	Argentina
	Inter Milan	Italy
	Liverpool	England
—	Other clubs		6.63%

References

1. "Zidane crowned world's best". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 December 2000. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
2. "Real Madrid reach century". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 March 2002. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
3. "Three candidates for FIFA World Player Award: Figo, Rivaldo and Zidane". FIFA.com. FIFA. 7 December 2000. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
4. "On this day, Real Madrid were named Club of the Century". realmadrid.com. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
5. "Di Stéfano, the memory of an eternal legend". laliga.es. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
6. "Nueva camiseta con el 'sello' del mejor club del S.XX (New shirt with the "20th Century Best Club" crest)" (in Spanish). elmundo.es. 12 July 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
7. "FIFA World Player 2000 award information". FIFA.com. FIFA. 6 December 2000. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
8. "The FIFA Club of the Century" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2023.