Copa Libertadores records and statistics


This page details the records and statistics of the Copa Libertadores. The Copa Libertadores is an international premier club tournament played annually by the top football clubs of South America. It includes 3–5 teams from all ten CONMEBOL members. It is usually held from January to November.
The data below does not include the 1948 South American Championship of Champions, as it is not listed by CONMEBOL either as a Copa Libertadores edition or as an official competition. It must be pointed out, however, that at least in the years 1996 and 1997, CONMEBOL entitled equal status to both the Copa Libertadores and the 1948 tournament. Vasco da Gama were allowed to participate in the Supercopa Libertadores, a CONMEBOL official competition for former Libertadores champions.

General performances

All-time [top ten table">Historical table of the Copa Libertadores">All-time [top ten table]

The list is current as of the end of 2021 edition. Last updated 6 December 2021.
RankClubPartTitlesGamesWDLGFGAGDPts
1

CONMEBOL club ranking

This ranking is used for seeding in the qualifying and group stage draws of the Copa Libertadores, and is based on a club's performance in the ten most recent Copa Libertadores editions, its historic performance in the competition, and its performance in local championship tournaments. Starting from 2021, the CONMEBOL ranking of the Copa Libertadores was updated to also include Copa Sudamericana performances, and thus was rebranded as the CONMEBOL Clubs Ranking.
The top 10 clubs as of 15 December 2025 are shown below.
RankClubHistorical performanceLast 10 years performanceTotal points
1

Number of participating clubs by country

The following is a list of the 219 clubs that have played at least one match in the Copa Libertadores, updated to the 2026 edition.
  • Teams in bold: winners of the edition.
  • Teams in italics: runners-up of the edition.
Nation#ClubsYears

Clubs

By semi-final appearances

Clubs were finalists in years that are in bold.

By quarter-final appearances

  • Note: 1) In 1960 and 1961, the tournament started in this round, so teams are not marked as quarter-finalists in the table. 2) From 1962 to 1965, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage which consisted of three groups where the winners of each group advanced to semi-finals with the winners of the previous edition. 3) In 1966 and 1967, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with several groups of four, five, six or even seven teams, where the two best teams of each group advanced to semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition. 4) From 1968 to 1970, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with several groups of four or six teams, where the two best teams of each group advanced to the second stage with several groups of two, three or four teams, where the winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition. 5) From 1971 to 1987, no quarter-finals were played as the tournament had a first stage with five groups of four teams, where the winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals with the winner of the previous edition.

By round of 16 appearances

  • Note: 1) From 1960 to 1987, no round of 16 was played because of the format of the tournament, or because of the lack of teams.

Unbeaten sides

Finals success rate

Only one club has appeared in the finals of the Copa Libertadores more than once with a 100% success rate:
Nine clubs have appeared in the final once, being victorious on that occasion:
On the other end, eighteen clubs have appeared in the finals and have never won the tournament. Five of those clubs have appeared in the finals more than once, losing on each occasion:

Consecutive participations

[Club Club Nacional de Football|Nacional de Football|Nacional] have the record number of consecutive participations, with 29 from 1997 to 2025.

Consecutive finals

Two clubs have appeared in a record four consecutive finals:

Defending the trophy

Successful title-holder campaigns

As of 2021, 12 of the 61 attempts to defend the trophy have been successful, and this has been accomplished by seven clubs. Until 1999, the title-holders started the competition in the second stage. Since then, only Boca Juniors and Palmeiras have defended their title in the current format, with the previous year's champions starting the tournament in the group stage.
DefendedAttemptsClubYearPldWDLGFGAGD
47

Unsuccessful title-holder campaigns

Of the 25 clubs to win the tournament, 19 have never defended it. Seven of those clubs have won the trophy more than once and had more than one attempt to do so. In 2000 title-holders started participating on group stage, four title-holders have failed to advance past this stage since.
#ClubYearDefeated byStage reached
4

Title-holder campaign by stage

As of 2025, these are the stages the title holders advanced to in the following competition:
Stages#Years
Champions121961, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1993, 2001, 2021
Runners-up121962, 1971, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2019
Semi-finals181964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1996, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2022
Quarter-finals51988, 1995, 2002, 2010, 2024
Round of 16141989, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2023, 2025
Group stage42007, 2009, 2015, 2017
No previous champions11960

Defeating title-holders

  • Years in bold: winner of the edition.

Defeated champions in a single tournament

  • Year in bold: winners of that edition.
  • Club in italics: title-holder.

By number of champions defeated

#ClubYearDefeated champions Stage reached
5

By number of titles combined

#ClubYearDefeated champions Stage reached
18

Winning other trophies

Only 2 clubs have the distinction of winning the Copa Libertadores, their national league, and another domestic tournament in the same year/season, known colloquially as the treble:
In addition to Santos and Flamengo, seven other clubs have achieved a continental double, in which a club won the Copa Libertadores in addition to their domestic league in the same year:
In addition to the double, the following clubs have gone on to win other trophies in that same time frame:
  • Peñarol won the Intercontinental Cup in 1961
  • Santos won the Intercontinental Cup in 1963
  • Nacional won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1971, and the Intercontinental Cup in 1980
  • Olimpia won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1979
  • Argentinos Juniors won the Copa Interamericana in 1985
  • River Plate won the Intercontinental Cup and Copa Interamericana in 1986
  • Colo-Colo won the Copa Interamericana in 1991

Biggest wins

Biggest two-leg win

Most goals in a match

Most goals over two legs or more

  • The most goals scored over two legs is fifteen, which occurred when Peñarol defeated Everest 14–1 on aggregate in 1963; the scorelines in each match were 5–0 and 9–1.
  • *In instances where a third leg was needed, the record number of goals scored is seventeen, which occurred when Peñarol defeated Santos 9–8 on aggregate in 1965; the scorelines in each match were 5–4, 3–2, and 2–1.
  • The most goals scored over two legs in the finals is ten, which occurred when LDU Quito drew Fluminense 5–5 on aggregate in 2008; the scorelines in each match were 4–2 and 3–1.
  • *In instances where a third leg was needed, the record number of goals scored in the finals is thirteen, which occurred twice:
  • **Peñarol defeated River Plate 8–5 on aggregate in 1966; the scorelines in each match were 2–0, 3–2, and 4–2.
  • **Cruzeiro also defeated River Plate 8–5 overall in 1976; the scorelines in each match were 4–1, 2–1, and 3–2.

Players

Appearances

Ever Almeida holds the record for most matches played with 113 games, all for Olimpia. He is also the only person to have made over 100 appearances in the tournament.
RankCountryPlayerAppearancesGoalsFromToClub
1

Goalscoring

All-time top scorers

Alberto Spencer is the all-time goalscorer of the Copa Libertadores with 54 goals to his name between 1960 and 1972.

Top scorer award

The top scorer award is for the player who amasses the most goals in the tournament.

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstScoreDate

Other goalscoring records

Other records

Most finals victories

Most finals defeats

Awards

From 1999 to 2007, Toyota, the main sponsor of the tournament, awarded the best player of the finals. However, in 2008, the company decided to recognise the manager, understanding that they are the main ones responsible for leading the entire team towards victory, combining concepts of reading the game, training, setting goals and strategy, until the final whistle. The last Toyota award was given to Renato Portaluppi in the 2017 edition.
Besides the Toyota Awards, from 2008 to 2012, Banco Santander was the main sponsor of the tournament and elected the best player of the competition; the players awarded were Joffre Guerrón in 2008, Juan Sebastián Verón in 2009, Giuliano in 2010, Neymar in 2011 and Emerson in 2012.

Players

;Toyota Award
YearPlayerClub
1999

Coaches

Records

Locals

Countries

Cities

  • The most successful city in the history of the Copa Libertadores is Buenos Aires, which has seen a record five clubs win thirteen total titles.
  • Fifteen cities have hosted a trophy ceremony. São Paulo has hosted the highest number of trophy ceremonies, with ten ceremonies held in three different stadiums.

Stadiums