The 27th edition of the UEFA Champions League has been one of the best in recent memory. Ahead of the showpiece final in Madrid on June 1, The Telegraph unravels 27 numbers that capture the history and relevance of this great tournament

1: This is the first final that Tottenham Hotspur will be contesting in the UEFA Champions League since the competition was rebranded from the old European Cup in 1992-’93. Their final opponents Liverpool, however, will be appearing in their fourth final, having won one and lost two others in the past.

2: The number of times the Champions League trophy has been defended successfully, with Real Madrid achieving the improbable in 2017 and 2018.

2-1: The most frequent score-line witnessed in Champions League finals over the years, with five finals (1999, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2013) ending with this margin.

3: The players sent off in a Champions League final — Jens Lehmann in 2006, Didier Drogba in 2008 and Juan Cuadrado in 2017 — all in a losing cause.

4: Only four players have managed to win the Champions League with two different clubs in successive seasons. The list comprises Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, Gerard Pique and Samuel Eto’o.

5: The maximum number of goals scored by a player in a single Champions League match, a feat shared by Lionel Messi (against Bayer Leverkusen in 2011-12) and Luiz Adriano (against BATE Borisov in 2014-15).

6: The number of goals scored in open play when Liverpool and AC Milan drew 3-3 in 2005 (Liverpool won on penalties) in the highest-scoring Champions League final.

7: The number of Champions League finals that have concluded with a penalty shoot-out, the latest being the 2016 edition where Real Madrid edged past neighbours Atletico.

8: The most number of hat-tricks in the competition’s history, a record held jointly by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

8-0: The largest margin of victory in a Champions League contest, shared by Liverpool (over Besiktas in 2007-08) and Real Madrid (over Malmo FF in 2015-16).

10: The most consecutive clean sheets kept by a goalkeeper in the Champions League, credited to Jens Lehmann for Arsenal between 2005 and 2007.

11: Spain is the most successful nation in the Champions League with Spanish clubs (Real Madrid and Barcelona) claiming a record 11 titles between them.

12: The number of goals scored by this season’s top-scorer Lionel Messi, including a couple in the quarter-finals to end a six-year drought of not netting in the last eight.

13: The number of times Real Madrid, the most decorated club in the tournament’s history, have won club football’s greatest competition (including the erstwhile European Cup), with their last four titles coming in the last five years.

17: The age at which Peter Ofori-Quaye (17 years and 194 days to be exact) became the youngest goal-scorer in the Champions League by registering for Olympiacos against Rosenborg in October 1997.

22: The distinction for advancing past the group stage on the most consecutive occasions belongs to Real Madrid, stretching from 1997-98 to this season.

25: The number of goals notched up by Paris Saint-Germain in 2017-18, the most scored by a single team in the group stage of a single season.

38: Pep Guardiola was only 38 years and 129 days old when he became the youngest manager to win the Champions League as his Barcelona side beat Manchester United in Rome in 2009.

42: The record number of assists in Champions League history, managed jointly by Ryan Giggs and his one-time Old Trafford teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

59: The number of games overseen by Kim Milton Nielsen, a former referee from Denmark who has overseen more games than any other official in the Champions League.

126: The tally for the Champions League’s all-time leading goal-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, with 17 of these coming in 2013-14, the Portuguese superstar’s most prolific campaign till date.

177: The number of appearances made by Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the Champions League, the all-time highest for any player in the competition.

190: The record number of matches managed by a coach in the Champions League era, held by Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson.

595: The current total of points earned by Real Madrid, the toppers of the all-time European Cup and Champions League table. Bayern Munich are second with 462.

67,829: The capacity of the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, the venue for the 2019 Champions League final.

90,245: The highest attendance in a Champions League final, witnessed in 1999 at the Camp Nou when Manchester United faced off against Bayern Munich.

82,450,000: The maximum prize money (in euros) a club can earn from a single season of the Champions League under the current financial structure, excluding qualifiers, play-offs, and the market pool.