Bayern Munich were the defending champions, however they were unable to retain their title after losing in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2013-14. Before that, they had won the title in 2009. In addition, Bayern also won the European Supercup in 2014.
Manchester City will be appearing in their first Club World Cup after winning the FA Cup last season. They were eliminated by Flamengo in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Flamengo went on to win the tournament for a second time after defeating Gremio 4-3 on penalties after the match ended 1-1 after extra time. David Luiz scored the only goal of the shoot-out.
Gremio's coach José Antonio de Agüero said after the game that he believed his side would have gone through to the final if not for "a series of mistakes" that led to Carlos Tevez being sent off after 58 minutes. He also called the penalty shootout "farcical".
The winner of the Club World Cup is awarded a place in the next year's FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. The last three winners (Flamengo in 2015, 2017, and 2018) have qualified for the finals.
The last champions before the UEFA Cup was renamed to the UEFA Europa League were Shakhtar Donetsk, who beat Werder Bremen 2-1 after extra time in the 2009 final. Benfica and Marseille have lost the most finals, with three losses in the competition.
The last club to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League multiple times are Manchester United, who won it a record six times. They last lost a final when they were beaten by Liverpool in 1977.
Other multiple winners include Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, who each won it four times.
The last team to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League as its inaugural season was Lyon in 1992-93. The last French team to win the cup is currently Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Chelsea 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw during the 2016-17 season final at Stade de France, Paris. PSG's Pierre-Alphonse Kopa was the top scorer with five goals.
The last English team to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League were Manchester United in 1999. The last player to score in every round of the UEFA Cup/Europa League until the final was scored by Michel Preud'homme of Auxerre in 2000 - he had seven goals from his side's nine matches.
Chelsea were the defending League Cup champions, having defeated Arsenal in the final in 2007. The first goal had an air of inevitability about it, coming from Didier Drogba, a guy who excelled on Wembley's hallowed grass and in cup finals in general. However, just before the end of the first half, there was still time for something to happen, and something did: Nicolas Anelka scored a stunning free kick goal direct from a corner flag.
It looked like Chelsea would go through the tournament unbeaten, but after losing at home to Manchester City in the quarter-finals, they were beaten 5-4 by Barcelona in the semi-final at Old Trafford. Barca went on to win the trophy for the second year running.
However, it wasn't all bad news for the Blues: Drogba won the League Player of the Year award that season. And although he didn't play any part in their success this time around, Fernando Torres did win the PFA Players' Player of the Year award.
Nowadays, Chelsea enter the competition at the third round stage, while Liverpool and Tottenham have been given a bye into the next phase. However, in 2007, only Chelsea had managed to reach that stage, beating Leeds United and Middlesbrough along the way before being knocked out by Manchester United.
With 18 victories from two clubs, Spain has produced the most champions. Italy has 12 wins from three clubs, whilst England has 13 winners from five clubs. Following the Heysel disaster in 1985, English teams were barred from participating in the competition for a five-year period.
Real Madrid thus achieved a record 10th title in the tournament, 12 years after their ninth triumph. Real Madrid secured the chance to play in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup against 2013–14 UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla. They also qualified as UEFA representatives for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup semi-finals.
The 2014 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, the 59th season of Europe's best club football competition run by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
On May 7, UEFA named Bjorn Kuipers as the referee for the final. Bjorn Kuipers, a Dutch referee, was appointed as the final referee by UEFA on May 7, 2014.
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