UEFA Champions League Final viewers in the U.S. 2021

The Champions League may be Europe's premier domestic soccer competition, but this does not stop viewers tuning in across the Atlantic in the United States. The 2021 all-English final between Chelsea and Manchester City drew in an American audience of 2.1 million viewers, representing the highest-rated final in six years.

European giants

Real Madrid's success in 2018 marked the 13th time that the Los Blancos have taken home the prestigious Champions League trophy. Their closest rivals in terms of number of Champions League titles are AC Milan, who have taken the title a total of seven times. However, while Real Madrid have become European champions four times since 2013, AC Milan's last title came back in the 2006-07 season. In that year, they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the final held in Athens, with both goals coming from Filippo Inzaghi. The legendary Italian forward features ninth on the list of players with the most goals in the Champions League. Topping this list are two modern legends of the game - Lionel Messi, who has won the European Cup four times with Barcelona, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has lifted the trophy once with Manchester United, as well as four times with Real Madrid.

Big money in the Champions League

Thanks to the global appeal of the Champions League, it is no surprise that significant money is invested by television providers to secure the rights for this competition. Revenue from broadcasting rights for the Champions League topped 2.4 billion euros in the 2018/19 season and a further 409 million euros was generated through commercial rights. As a result, the total revenue of the Champions League reached 2.8 billion euros in the 2018/19 season, a significant increase from the 820 million euros of revenue generated a decade earlier.