Champions League final facts: Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid

The 2023/24 UEFA Champions League concludes with a German-Spanish final at Wembley Stadium as Borussia Dortmund take on Real Madrid.

While Dortmund are in the final for only the third time – and the first since 2013, also at Wembley, when they lost an all-Bundesliga decider against Bayern München – and are looking to win the European Cup for the second time – the most recent of Madrid's record 14 titles came only two years ago.

Dortmund have won one and lost one of their two previous European Cup finals; in contrast, Madrid have featured in this contest 17 times and have lost only three, the last in 1981. They have been victorious in each of their last eight finals – all in the Champions League era.

Both sides came through epic semi-finals to reach Wembley. Two sterling defensive displays took Dortmund past Paris Saint-Germain, while Madrid engineered another remarkable late revival, two late Joselu goals turning round their tie against Bayern.

Final focus

This is the fifth European Cup final between teams from Germany and Spain. Each country has two wins apiece, Bayern beating Atlético de Madrid in 1974 and Valencia in 2000 while Madrid overcame Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960 and Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.

This is the eighth European Cup final to be played at Wembley:
1963: AC Milan 2-1 Benfica
1968: Manchester United 4-1 Benfica (aet)
1971: Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos
1978: Liverpool 1-0 Club Brugge
1992: Barcelona 1-0 Sampdoria (aet)
2011: Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United
2013: Bayern München 2-1 Borussia Dortmund

Final pedigree

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund are featuring in their third European Cup final, all in the Champions League era. Their record is W1 L1:
1996/97: Dortmund 3-1 Juventus
2012/13: Bayern München 2-1 Dortmund

The defeat by Bayern 11 years ago is the only all-German final – and the last time the match was played at Wembley.

Dortmund are the 13th club to appear in three or more European Cup finals.

Should BVB triumph at Wembley, the 27-year gap between their triumphs would be the fourth longest in European Cup history, with Inter Milan having endured the longest wait of 45 years between their triumphs in 1965 and 2010.

This is Dortmund's eighth final in UEFA competition. In addition to their two previous Champions League appearances, they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965/66 – beating Liverpool 2-1 after extra time at Hampden Park in Glasgow – but lost in the UEFA Cup final in both 1992/93, to Juventus (1-3 h, 0-3 a) and 2001/02, to Feyenoord in Rotterdam (2-3). They also went down 3-1 on aggregate to Barcelona in the two-legged UEFA Super Cup in 1997 (0-2 a, 1-1 h) but beat Cruzeiro 2-0 in that year's European/South American Cup.

Mats Hummels and Marco Reus both played 90 minutes in that 2013 final.

Emre Can was a late substitute in Liverpool's 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in Kyiv in the 2018 Champions League final.

Niklas Süle was a first-half substitute as Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in Lisbon in the 2020 final.

Real Madrid

Madrid have won a record 14 European Cups, and have triumphed in their last eight finals, all in the UEFA Champions League. Overall their final record is W14 L3:
1955/56: Real Madrid 4-3 Reims
1956/57: Real Madrid 2-0 Fiorentina
1957/58: Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan (aet)
1958/59: Real Madrid 2-0 Reims
1959/60: Real Madrid 7-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
1961/62: Benfica 5-3 Real Madrid
1963/64: Inter 3-1 Real Madrid
1965/66: Real Madrid 2-1 Partizan
1980/81: Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid
1997/98: Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus
1999/00: Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia
2001/02: Real Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
2013/14: Real Madrid 4-1 Atlético de Madrid (aet)
2015/16: Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético de Madrid (aet; 5-3 on penalties)
2016/17: Real Madrid 4-1 Juventus
2017/18: Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool
2021/22: Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool

In 2017 Madrid became the first side to make a successful Champions League title defence. They were the first team to retain the European Cup since Milan (1989, 1990). Their 2018 victory made them the first team to win the trophy three years in a row twice.

Luka Modrić and Dani Carvajal could appear in their sixth Champions League final victory for Madrid – matching Paco Gento's European Cup record.

In addition, Toni Kroos featured in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022 while Lucas Vázquez came on as a substitute in 2016 and Nacho has been a member of five victorious squads but only featured in the 2018 final.

Thibaut Courtois, Éder Militão, Ferland Mendy, Federico Valverde plus Vinícius Júnior and the injured David Alaba all started Madrid's 2022 final win, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo coming on as late substitutes and Andriy Lunin an unused replacement.

Having scored the only goal against Liverpool in 2022, Vinícius Júnior could become only the eighth player to find the net in more than one Champions League final.

Madrid's triumph in Saint-Denis two years ago was the 12th Champions League win for a Spanish side – five more than the next highest-ranked nation, England, and seven more than Italy. Germany (four) is the only other country to have recorded multiple victories.

This is Madrid's 34th UEFA final. In addition to their 17 European Cup appearances, they were UEFA Cup winners in 1985 and 1986 and European Cup Winners' Cup runners-up in 1971 and 1983. They lifted the UEFA Super Cup in 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2022 alongside defeats in 1998, 2000 and 2018, and won the European/South American Cup in 1960, 1998 and 2002, losing in 1966 and 2000.

Previous meetings

Dortmund wins: 3
Real Madrid wins: 6
Draws: 5
Dortmund goals: 19
Real Madrid goals: 24

All 14 of the teams' previous meetings have come in the Champions League.

The sides' last fixtures, in 2017/18, proved a chastening experience for Dortmund, who lost 1-3 at home and 2-3 away against their Spanish rivals on their way to picking up only two points in Group H. Gareth Bale scored once and Cristiano Ronaldo twice in Madrid's Matchday 2 victory in Germany before Lucas Vázquez's late winner in Spain after early strikes from Borja Mayoral and Ronaldo had been cancelled out by a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang double.

The teams had drawn 2-2 in both Germany and Spain in the 2016/17 group stage. Madrid twice led in Dortmund, through Ronaldo and Raphaël Varane; Aubameyang and, in the 87th minute, André Schürrle replied for Thomas Tuchel's BVB. Dortmund then secured first place in the section by coming from 2-0 down to snatch a point in Spain on Matchday 6, Karim Benzema's double (28, 53) putting Madrid in command, but goals from Aubameyang (60) and Marco Reus (88) giving the visitors the vital point.

In the 2013/14 quarter-finals, Madrid prevailed 3-2 on aggregate en route to lifting the trophy. Gareth Bale, Isco and Ronaldo earned Ancelotti's side a 3-0 first-leg lead before Dortmund, coached by Jürgen Klopp, narrowed the deficit with a 2-0 victory in Germany through two Reus strikes.

That offered a measure of revenge for Dortmund's victory in the previous season's semi-finals. Robert Lewandowski was the star of the show as Dortmund reached their second Champions League final, the Poland international getting all four of the German side's goals in a 4-1 win in the home first leg, Ronaldo having made it 1-1. Dortmund progressed despite a 2-0 reverse in Madrid where Benzema and Sergio Ramos scored.

The teams had also faced off in that season's group stage, when Dortmund finished above Madrid with the help of a 2-1 home win – Lewandowski and Marcel Schmelzer scoring either side of Ronaldo – and a 2-2 draw in Madrid where Reus again featured on the scoresheet.

In the 2002/03 second group stage, Madrid came from behind to beat Dortmund on Matchday 3 in Group C thanks to goals from Raúl González and Brazilian striker Ronaldo, but needed a 92nd-minute Javier Portillo equaliser to rescue a 1-1 draw in Germany a week later. That proved crucial as the Spanish side edged out Dortmund by a single point to take second place in the section.

The sides had met for the first time in 1997/98, when Dortmund's defence of the Champions League they had won in Munich the previous year was ended by Madrid at the semi-final stage. A goal in each half from Fernando Morientes and Christian Karembeu in the Santiago Bernabéu first leg proved crucial, Jupp Heynckes' side holding on for a goalless draw in Dortmund en route to claiming Madrid's first European Cup in 32 years.

Form guide

Borussia Dortmund

Record vs Spanish clubs: W12 D12 L14 F56 A55

BVB have already faced Spanish opponents this season, beating Madrid's City rivals Atlético in the quarter-finals (1-2 a, 4-2 h).

That made Dortmund's record in knockout ties against Spanish clubs W7 L3.

The second-leg success against Atlético was only Dortmund's fourth victory in their last 14 matches against Liga clubs, home and away (D5 L5).

Dortmund were paired with Sevilla in last season's group stage, winning 4-1 in Spain before a 1-1 home draw. They had also beaten the Spanish side in the 2020/21 round of 16, winning 3-2 away before a 2-2 home draw with Erling Haaland scoring four of their five goals in the tie.

Last season's Bundesliga runners-up are in the Champions League for the 18th time overall and the eighth successive season. All but two of their last 11 campaigns have now extended into the knockout rounds.

In 2022/23, Edin Terzić's team were second in Group G behind eventual champions Manchester City before being knocked out by Chelsea in the round of 16 (1-0 h, 0-2 a).

This season Dortmund began with a 2-0 loss in Paris before being held 0-0 at home by Milan but breathed life into their Group F campaign by beating Newcastle away (1-0) and at home (2-0) and sealed progress with a 3-1 win at San Siro on Matchday 5, concluding the group stage with a 1-1 draw at home to Paris.

Dortmund drew 1-1 at PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 first leg, progressing thanks to a 2-0 home win, and then overcame a 2-1 loss at Atlético de Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final to go through thanks to a 4-2 home success, that second-leg win ending a run of five successive defeats in quarter-final matches.

They then defeated Paris 1-0 both home and away in the last four, the second-leg victory at the Parc des Princes only their second in their last 12 away Champions League knockout matches; they lost nine of those games.

Dortmund's record in UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
6-5 v Auxerre, 1992/93 UEFA Cup semi-final
3-1 v Rangers, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup third round
2-4 v Club Brugge, 2003/04 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round
3-4 v Udinese, 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round

Real Madrid

Record against German clubs: W41 D16 L24 F153 A121

Madrid have already faced three German clubs this season. They were paired with Union Berlin in Group C, Jude Bellingham scoring in the 94th-minute to secure a 1-0 home win on Matchday 1 before Dani Ceballos struck in the 89th minute of a 3-2 victory in Germany on Matchday 6.

They then overcame Leipzig in the last 16, a 1-0 first-leg victory in Germany preceding a 1-1 home draw, and Bayern in the semi-finals (2-2 a, 2-1 h), Joselu scoring in the 88th and 91st minutes of the second leg to engineer a remarkable comeback.

A 3-2 loss at Leipzig on Matchday 5 last season is Madrid's only defeat in their last 20 matches against Bundesliga clubs, home and away (W13 D6).

Ancelotti's side also beat German opponents in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup, defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in Helsinki. That was Madrid's fourth UEFA final against opposition from Germany and a fourth victory, and a third game on neutral territory against a Bundesliga club. Aside from their European Cup final wins against Frankfurt in 1960 and Leverkusen in 2002, they also defeated Köln on aggregate in the two-legged UEFA Cup final in 1986 (5-1 h, 0-2 a).

This season's round of 16 meeting with Leipzig was Madrid's first knockout tie against a Bundesliga club since beating Bayern 4-3 on aggregate in the 2017/18 semi-finals.

Madrid's record in knockout ties with German clubs in UEFA competition is now W20 L8. They have won each of their last ten ties against German opposition, scoring 41 goals in the process; their last defeat came against Dortmund in the 2012/13 semi-finals (1-4 a, 2-0 h).

This is Madrid's 28th Champions League campaign, a competition record they share with Barcelona. They last missed out in 1996/97.

Madrid have now qualified for the knockout rounds in all 28 campaigns and have won their section 20 times including each of the last four.

Having claimed the club's 14th European Cup – and eighth Champions League, also a competition record – in 2021/22, Ancelotti's side then finished first in their section last season, winning four of their six games (D1 L1) before beating Liverpool in the round of 16 (5-2 a, 1-0 h). That set up a second successive quarter-final against Chelsea, Madrid winning 2-0 home and away, before going out against Manchester City (1-1 h, 0-4 a).

The 4-0 defeat at City last season equalled Madrid's biggest Champions League loss.

This season, after seeing off Union Berlin on Matchday 1, Ancelotti's side have beaten both Napoli (3-2 a, 4-2 h) and Braga (2-1 a, 3-0 h) twice. They made it six group wins from six – matching their feat in 2011/12 and 2014/15 – with a 3-2 victory at Union.

A 1-0 win at Leipzig in the round of 16 first leg put Madrid in control of that tie, although they failed to win for the first time in this season's competition in the return, which ended 1-1.

Ancelotti's side then came through an epic quarter-final against City, the first leg finishing 3-3 in Madrid and the Manchester return 1-1 before the Spanish side prevailed 4-3 on penalties and saw off Bayern in the last four thanks to Joselu's late intervention (2-2 a, 2-1 h).

Madrid's record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W3 L2:
5-6 v Crvena zvezda, 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
3-1 v Juventus, 1986/87 European Cup second round
1-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-3 v Atlético de Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final
4-3 v Manchester City, 2023/24 UEFA Champions League quarter-final

Links and trivia

Bellingham was a Dortmund player between 2020 and 2023, when he left for Real Madrid, scoring 24 goals in 132 games in all competitions and also providing 25 assists. He was part of the team that won the DFB-Pokal in 2020/21.

Have also played in Germany:
Toni Kroos (Bayern München 2007–14, Bayer Leverkusen 2009–10 loan)
David Alaba (Bayern München 2009–21)
Dani Carvajal (Bayer Leverkusen 2012/13)
Antonio Rüdiger (Stuttgart 2011–15)
Joselu (Hoffenheim 2012/13, Eintracht Frankfurt 2013/14 loan, Hannover 2014/15)

With Bayern, Kroos won three Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals and, in 2013, the Champions League – although he missed the final win against Dortmund due to injury – UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with the Munich side. His record against Dortmund with Bayern, Leverkusen and Madrid is W6 D5 L8.

The injured Alaba appeared in Bayern's Champions League final wins in 2013 and 2020, when he also won the Super Cup and the Club World Cup, and also won ten Bundesliga titles and six DFB-Pokals with the Munich club.

Joselu was born in Stuttgart and lived in Germany until the age of four, when his family returned to Spain. He has won one of his six games against Dortmund, losing three.

Born in Petra on the island of Majorca, Mateu Morey spent a year in Mallorca's youth academy before joining Barcelona's youth set-up in 2015; he left for Dortmund four years later.

Ancelotti was in charge of Bayern between 2016 and 2018, winning the Bundesliga title in 2016/17.

Have played together:
Emre Can & Toni Kroos (Bayern 2012/13)
Mats Hummels & David Alaba (Bayern 2016–19)
Niklas Süle & David Alaba (Bayern 2017–21)

International team-mates:
Marcel Sabitzer & David Alaba (Austria)
Mats Hummels, Niklas Süle, Julian Brandt, Emre Can, Niclas Füllkrug, Nico Schlotterbeck, Marius Wolf, Felix Nmecha, Karim Adeyemi & Toni Kroos, Antonio Rüdiger (Germany)
Salih Özcan & Arda Güler (Türkiye)
Jadon Sancho & Jude Bellingham (England)

Hummels and Kroos were both part of Germany's victorious 2014 FIFA World Cup squad.

On 26 March Kroos provided an assist for Füllkrug in Germany's 2-1 win against Donyell Malen's Netherlands. Rüdiger also played for Germany.

Marcel Sabitzer was on target as Austria beat Luka Modrić's Croatia 3-0 in the UEFA Nations League group in 2022.

Sabitzer also found the net as Austria were 2-0 friendly winners against a Germany side including Antonio Rüdiger on 21 November 2023.

Malen opened the scoring as the Netherlands lost 4-2 after extra time to Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in Rotterdam on 14 June 2023. Modrić, who had provided two assists, scored the final goal from the penalty spot.

Malen and Kroos were both on target as the Netherlands won 4-2 away to Germany in UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying on 6 September 2019.

Füllkrug scored in Germany's 1-1 draw against Spain in the 2022 World Cup group stage.

Joselu scored twice in Spain's 3-0 UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying win against Julian Ryerson's Norway on 25 March 2023. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Dani Carvajal, Nacho and Dani Ceballos also played for Spain.

Eduardo Camavinga provided an assist in France's 2-1 defeat against a Germany side featuring Süle, Can and Brandt in a friendly on 12 September 2023. Rüdiger also played for Germany and Aurélién Tchouaméni for France.

Tchouaméni provided an assist in France's 4-0 EURO 2024 qualifying win against Malen's Netherlands on 24 March 2023. Camavinga also played in that match for France.

Salih Özcan provided the assist as Türkiye won 1-0 away to Modrić's Croatia in EURO 2024 qualifying on 12 October 2023.

Latest news

Borussia Dortmund

In the last two Bundesliga games after the second-leg win in Paris Dortmund suffered a 3-0 defeat in Mainz on 11 May before concluding the season with a 4-0 win against Darmstadt a week later. That made it four victories in five games in all competitions (L1).

In his last league game for Borussia Marco Reus, who will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, scored against Darmstadt. The midfielder, who turns 35 the day before the final, has 170 goals in 428 appearances for the club, whom he joined in 2012.

Ian Maatsen, Julian Brandt and Donyell Malen also scored against Darmstadt.

Malen has struck 13 times in the league this season to surpass his BVB best (nine goals) from 2022/23 and has seven in his last ten club appearances.

BVB finished this season's Bundesliga with 63 points (W18 D9 L7) – eight less than last season – in fifth place, their lowest final ranking since 2014/15 when they finished seventh. Dortmund's record in 2024 is W15 D4 L5.

Dortmund were 5-1 winners at home to Augsburg in the Bundesliga on 4 May, the only time they scored five goals in a league game this season.

Reus scored one goal and set up two more; aged 34 years 339 days he was the oldest player to be involved in three goals in a Bundesliga match since Bayern's Franck Ribéry in March 2019.

Youssoufa Moukoko scored twice, the first time he had found the net more than once in a Bundesliga game since 5 November 2022.

Felix Nmecha completed the scoring with his first Bundesliga goal for Dortmund.

On 27 April, Dortmund went down 4-1 at Leipzig in the Bundesliga despite taking a first-half lead through Jadon Sancho's second league goal of his second spell at the club.

Sancho's goal was his 40th in the Bundesliga, making him the all-time top-scoring Englishman in the German top flight. He was previously tied with Tony Woodcock.

That ended Dortmund's ten-match unbeaten run in Bundesliga away matches (W6 D4), their best run since another ten-game sequence in 2012 and 2013.

Mateu Morey, who will leave the club at the end of the season, missed the Darmstadt game because of illness.

Julien Duranville has missed the last six games with a muscle injury.

Sébastien Haller, who had been an unused substitute in both Paris games, missed the last two Bundesliga matches due to ankle problems but returned to team training on 28 May.

Haller, who had scored the winning goal for host Ivory Coast in the 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations final success against Nigeria on 11 February, made his first appearance for Dortmund in 2024 as a late substitute in a 2-0 win at Bayern on 30 March after recovering from the recurrence of an ankle injury the striker suffered in the final.

After scoring his only goal for BVB in 2024 as a substitute in the quarter-final first leg at Atlético on 10 April Haller started three days later in Gladbach but had to be replaced early on after suffering another ankle injury and has not played since.

In March Ramy Bensebaini returned with a knee injury from international duty with Algeria and has not played since.

Mats Hummels made his 500th appearance for Dortmund in the quarter-final first leg at Atlético.

Real Madrid

La Liga title winners Madrid finished their league campaign with 95 points, ten clear of second-placed Barcelona, with the record W29 D8 L1 F87 A26.

On 4 May, Madrid were crowned Spanish champions for a 36th time, their third title in five seasons.

Carlo Ancelotti has now won six league titles as a coach – though his two triumphs with Madrid are his first multiple titles in the same country, after championship success with AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern.

Madrid have won 40 of their 54 games in all competitions in 2023/24, suffering only two defeats – both against Atlético de Madrid.

Since the semi-final second leg against Bayern, Madrid have played four La Liga games (W2 D2).

They won 4-0 at Granada and 5-0 at home to Alavés before drawing their last two games, at Villarreal (4-4) and at home to Betis (0-0).

The draw at Villarreal on 19 May – a match Madrid led 2-0 and 4-1 – extended the Merengues' unbeaten run to 31 games, eclipsing the previous club record of 30 set in 1989. The final-day draw with Betis made it 32 games without defeat.

The Betis match was Toni Kroos' last appearance at the Bernabéu. On 21 May, the German announced he would retire following UEFA EURO 2024. The final at Wembley will be his last Real Madrid game.

Jude Bellingham has 23 goals in 41 games in all competitions this season. In the Champions League, he has scored four goals and provided four assists in ten games.

A double against Alavés means Vinícius Júnior has scored 23 goals in all competitions in 2023/24, equalling his career best set last season.

Rodrygo scored ten league goals this season, also his best ever return, although he has not found the net in six games in all competitions.

Joselu finished the Liga season on ten goals, his lowest figure in the last five seasons, although his goals-per-minute ratio is his best in those five campaigns with a strike every 167 minutes.

Joselu has struck 18 goals in all competitions for Madrid, making him the team’s third-highest scorer with one more goal than Rodrygo. Joselu is also the team’s joint top scorer in the Champions League with five goals, level with Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo.

Two Brahim Díaz goals against Granada took his tally to eight in the league this season, surpassing his best figure of six for AC Milan in 2022/23.

Arda Güler finished the league season with six goals in ten games. Five came in the last six games, including two in the 4-4 draw with Villarreal.

On 26 April, Madrid were 1-0 victors at Real Sociedad, Arda Güler marking his first Liga start with the first-half winner. Aged 19 years 61 days, the Turkish international was the second youngest player to score for Madrid on his full Liga debut this century, behind Rodrygo (18 years 294 days).

Dani Carvajal was involved in seven Liga goals this season (four goals, three assists), his best return, improving on the six he managed in 2019/20 (one goal, five assists).

Madrid have kept 12 clean sheets in their last 23 matches including four in the last six.

Ancelotti's side have set a new club record for number of clean sheets in a single campaign, with 21. Madrid's previous best was 19 in 1986/87, 1987/88 and 2019/20.

Fede Valverde has been involved in every Real Madrid game this season, with the exception of the 4-0 win in Granada on 11 May. He has played more minutes than any other player in the squad but has only managed three goals in all competitions this term compared to 12 in 2022/23.

A 4-2 extra-time loss at Atlético in the Copa del Rey fourth round on 18 January is Madrid's only defeat in their last 47 games (W34 D12).

Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup for the 13th time on 14 January, beating Barcelona 4-1 in the final with Vinícius Júnior scoring a hat-trick. They had overcome Atlético 5-3 in extra time in the semi-finals.

Thibaut Courtois ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training at the beginning of August. On 19 March, when he was nearing the final stages of his recovery, he suffered a fractured meniscus in his right knee during a training session; he eventually returned against Cádiz on 4 May and started four of Madrid's last five league matches, keeping clean sheets in all of them.

David Alaba also suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left knee in a 4-1 La Liga win against Villarreal on 17 December.

Bellingham was named La Liga Player of the Season on 28 May.

The Englishman was also included in the La Liga Team of the Season alongside Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, Valverde and Vinícius Júnior.