Milan have seven, while the next two most successful clubs in Europe are combined with six.
Carlo Ancelotti has four as a manager, which is more than anyone else.
It has to be satisfying to win a European Cup in his city, a 10-minute scooter ride from where he was born and raised. After the game, club president Florentino Perez said: "Mbappe is forgotten now and that's OK." There was a perfect season in Madrid.
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We already know that no club is as closely associated with the trophy as this one is. It is possible that no team has ever become champion of Europe after overcoming such a tough run in the knockout rounds.
This was a really difficult campaign, if anything tonight was easier than the previous games, according to Ancelotti. Quality, mentality, the experience of the veterans, the drive and impact of the youngsters are all important. Beyond that? I have never seen anyone win without being a bit lucky.
The Reds failed to convert their chances before Vinicius Jr.'s second-half strike, thanks in no small part to the long-limbed Thibaut Courtois: part-octopus, part-Gumby. They had used the tools of victory before: belief, unflappability and experience.
Three weeks of late-season games at the Stade de France were a preseason warm-ups for Real Madrid. When you get the league early, you have the luxury to rest and recuperate, tinker, eyes and minds fully engaged on the prize. It may or may not have been his best XI, but it was the one he trusted to start the game, with Fede Valverde wide on the right doing double duty as a winger in attack.
The pursuit of the quadruple was a factor that made it hard for him to have that luxury. It is true that he rested players when he could, but he still had a hard fought FA Cup final against Chelsea at full strength, and the mental drain of being within a point of City can be felt. On paper, he was able to call upon his first-choice XI, but the vibe was different. It felt like veterans returning to the front after a day of quiet, hungry to gut it out.
Craig Burley explains why Thibaut Courtois was the difference in the final.
The tension grew as the game went on despite the delay due to security issues outside. Both teams came back out on the pitch after the delays were over.
The game unfolded as planned. When Madrid tried to play out from the back, they were met with the twin central barrier of Salah and Sadio Mane, with either Jordan Henderson or Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right. Ibrahima Konate was often there to meet him step for step when they looked for the long out ball.
The first sustained spell of Madrid possession in the half of the stadium was not until the 25th minute. Before that, Courtois had to make two key saves off Salah and rely on the post after Mane skipped past Eder Militao, created space where there wasn't any and rifled his shot against the woodwork.
Madrid were on the ropes, but this team knows how to suffer and dazzle. There was a roar from the crowd behind the Madrid goal when Carvajal poked the ball away. David Alaba demanded and got a huge chest-bump from his defensive partner, MIlitao. They got the spark from the way they defended.
There wasn't much at the other end. The highlight should have been Benzema's goal, not the one he scored, but the one he didn't.
Was that Madrid's break? Was that when they didn't seize? They didn't carpe? Nope. Just before the hour mark, they got another. Benzema cut to the near post after Valverde romped his way down the right flank. He took Konate with him, which made sense, but he also sucked in Alexander-Arnold, who was a few yards behind his center-back. Vinicius sneaked in from the other flank to meet the hard, low cross from Valverde.
Vinicius and Valverde defined the present and the future at the same time. Both arrived at 18 years old, the former with great hype and fanfare as a Brazilian wunderkind, the latter almost an after-thought as a Uruguayan grafter. Both were important in their own way. Vinicius played Robin to Benzema's Batman with a slew of goals and assists, while Valverde displayed the kind of hard-hat reliability and flexibility that made the hybrid 4-3-4-2 formation possible. Much is made of Madrid's veterans and rightly so, but these two have gone to the next level under Ancelotti this season.
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Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino were the first to be sent on the cavalry. The best of the chances was perhaps the finish of Salah, which Courtois seemed to spread himself like a paintball splash.
Courtois said after the game that he was going to win the trophy and anyone who saw what he did would think so.
Steve Nicol explains how Real Madrid were able to get a differentiating goal.
As the clock ticks into injury time, the supporters of the Reds raised a chorus of "You'll Never Walk Alone" into the Paris sky. They will not. Madrid fans replied with a cry of "Asi!". Asi! Asi gana el Madrid! That is how! They were correct about how Madrid win.
At the end of the game, Benzema patted Kroos on the back, while he and Modric embraced.
It felt like one of those old movies where the gang successfully gets together for one final, big robbery. Even without Mbappe, you think this will be their last because of the skills of a guy like Ancelotti, one of the few men who can pull off the cardigan-cigar-shades combination and lead a team in transition to a league. Vinicius, Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo are already with the big one. In the prime of his career, Courtois staked a claim as the world's No.1 between the posts and got a few things off his chest.
Not with the culture and expectation of success in Casa Blanca.
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