The best soccer teams of the past 25 years, ranked from 25 to 1

The article presents a ranking of the top 25 club teams in European football since the year 2000. The methodology involves analyzing every season across Europe's "Big Five" top leagues. Teams are initially ranked by a combination of points per game (weighted 60%) and goal differential per game (weighted 40%). This ranking is then adjusted for league difficulty using average Club Elo ratings over the 25 seasons. Bonus points are awarded for Champions League achievements: winning (+100), reaching the final (+75), semifinals (+50), quarterfinals (+25), and round of 16 (+10). The final rating gives a 70% weight to domestic league performance and a 30% weight to Champions League performance, reflecting the larger sample size and balanced schedule of domestic leagues.

The article reveals three specific entries from the top 25 list. The 2024-25 Paris Saint-Germain team ranks 25th. While other PSG teams had better domestic points totals or goal differentials, this Luis Enrique-led side is recognized for concentrating their excellence during the crucial March-May period and winning the Champions League, achieving what previous PSG teams could not (2.47 PPG, +1.68 GD per game, UCL winner).

The 2023-24 Real Madrid team ranks higher (exact position not stated in provided text). Historically, Real Madrid often won the Champions League without dominant domestic seasons (e.g., 2002's 66 points, +25 GD, 3rd place finish). However, the 2023-24 team combined Champions League success with strong domestic performance. They won the final despite a poor first half, progressed past Manchester City (penalties) and Bayern Munich (late comeback) while generally outplaying them, and dominated La Liga (95 points, 10 points ahead of second, only 1 loss).

The 2016-17 Barcelona team is also featured. This was the final season of the MSN (Messi, Suárez, Neymar) era under Luis Enrique. Despite the famous comeback against PSG, they won neither the Champions League (quarterfinalists) nor La Liga. However, they achieved 90 league points, a remarkable +79 goal differential (14 better than champions Real Madrid), and scored 116 La Liga goals – the third-highest tally in the Big Five leagues this century (2.37 PPG, +2.1 GD per game).