Winning one major trophy in any given season is a notable achievement, not to mention two or three.
Certain teams are, however, capable of sustaining challenges for silverware on multiple fronts, with several additions being made to well-stocked cabinets.
Has a club ever managed to sweep the board by completing a quadruple in a single campaign? GOAL takes a look…
What is a quadruple?
For a club to win a quadruple it means that they have won four trophies in a single season.
For example, if a team has won the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League, they have won the quadruple.
In official terms, a ‘true’ quadruple is when a club wins all four of the major trophies in a single campaign, not across a calendar year.
A team can win four trophies and call it winning a quadruple, but true pedants and football purists will say that trophies like the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup do not count towards ‘quadruple’ tallies as they are not considered to be major trophies by the majority of people.
Similarly, a ‘treble’ is when a single team wins three major trophies in a single season, and the ‘double’ is when a team collects two pieces of major silverware.
Bayern won the unofficial quadruple when they lifted the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League in 2019-20. They went on to win the Club World Cup a few months later, which means that they won four titles but not the true quadruple.
Similarly, Pep Guardiola won six trophies in the 2009 calendar year as manager of Barcelona – the Champions League, La Liga, Spanish Cup, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the Copa del Rey.
But he was unable to win the proper quadruple in 2009-10, falling short in the Champions League semi-finals while picking up the Spanish Cup and La Liga trophies.
Has a Premier League team ever won the quadruple?
No Premier League side has managed to win the quadruple.
The closest any side has got was in 1998-99 when – with a League Cup triumph eluding the Red Devils as they tumbled out of that competition at the quarter-final stage against Tottenham.
Manchester City, meanwhile, collected all three domestic trophies in 2018-19 but slipped out of continental competition in the quarter-finals – they also won the Community Shield that year.
Liverpool’s quadruple dream is alive and kicking 🥥
— GOAL (@goal)
– the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League – in the 2021-22 season.
The Reds have already savoured League Cup glory, are through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, quarter-finals in Europe and sit just a point off the pace in a domestic title race.
Article continues below Clubs to win four titles
No team in the top five major European leagues has won the true quadruple, though many clubs have won four titles in a season.
Celtic won the true quadruple in 1966-67, as they had won the European Cup, Scottish First Division, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup in a single season.
Bayern Munich2019-20Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, Champions League, Club World CupReal Madrid2017-18Supercopa de Espana, Super Cup, Club World Cup, Champions LeagueParis St-Germain2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18Trophee des Champions, Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la LigueReal Madrid2016-17Super Cup, Club World Cup, La Liga, Champions LeagueBarcelona2015-16Super Cup, Club World Cup, La Liga, Copa del ReyBayern Munich2012-13DFL Supercup, Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, Champions LeagueCeltic1966-67European Cup, Scottish First Division, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup