The four European heavyweights still chasing a historic treble in 2024-25

Some of Europe’s biggest sides remain in contention to win each of their respective leagues, cups and the continent’s biggest prize of the Champions League.

A treble being won by any of them would be special, with only a handful of teams achieving the rare feat in the history of the game.

Here, we have looked into the four teams who could still pull it off.

Real Madrid

Surprisingly, Real Madrid have never won the treble. There have been a few seasons in which they have won the Champions League and La Liga – such as in 2021-22 and 2023-24 – but they have failed to win the Copa del Rey. Annoyingly for them, they won the Spanish cup in 2022-23, the season between their double wins in the other competitions.

Currently, they find themselves three points behind rivals Barcelona in La Liga, and have Real Sociedad stood in their way in the Copa del Rey semi-finals (with a 1-0 lead going into the second leg), before a meeting with either Barca or local rivals Atletico Madrid in the final.

In the Champions League, Los Blancos face Arsenal in the quarter-finals, and either Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa in the semis, before any of Barca, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan could meet them in the final, if they get there.

They’re just three points behind Barcelona in the La Liga title race, too. All to play for.

Barcelona

Barca have won the treble before, completing the feat twice since the turn of the century. The last time they did so was in 2014-15, and they have the benefit of knowing current manager Hansi Flick has done so more recently, with Bayern Munich in 2019-20.

With a three-point buffer to Real Madrid in La Liga, Barca are well placed there, and their Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid is perfectly poised at 4-4, before a potential final against Real Madrid or Real Sociedad.

In the Champions League, Barca face a Borussia Dortmund side who have fallen way below usual standards in domestic football, where they are 10th in the Bundesliga. If they are to pass that test, Bayern Munich or Inter await the Spanish giants in the semis.

They’re currently top of the Spanish top flight, having won each of their last nine league outings. They host chasers Real Madrid in mid-May, three weeks before the final round of fixtures.

PSG

PSG have never won the treble on account of having never won the Champions League. In 2019-20, they were beaten by Bayern Munich in the final, and that’s the closest they’ve come. In that season, they won both the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France, making the European loss all the more agonising. Flick’s Bayern claimed their own treble at their expense.

They also won both other trophies in 2023-24, and going further back, in 2017-18, 2015-16 and 2014-15.

Standing in their way of a Champions League semi-final place is Aston Villa, who it should be noted do technically, mathematically remain in contention for the treble, but would have to essentially win every game in the Premier League for the rest of the season and hope Liverpool and Arsenal collapse spectacularly. Never gonna happen. They are FA Cup semi-finals as well as remaining in the Champions League.

If PSG are to beat Villa in Europe’s elite competition, they’d meet either Arsenal or Real Madrid in the semis. In the Coupe de France, Ligue 2 side Dunkerque are the semi-final opponents, with Rennes and Cannes on the other side of the draw.

Ligue 1 glory is already a certainty, with the French giants 21 points clear at the top of the table.

Inter Milan

Inter’s one and only treble came in 2009-10, under Jose Mourinho. They have won Serie A just twice since then, but the latest triumph came last season, and they are three points clear at the top of the division currently.

Standing in their way in the Coppa Italia semi-finals are rivals AC Milan, and if they are to beat them, they’d face either Empoli or Bologna in the final. The latter of those dumped Inter out in the round of 16 last season.

Since their Champions League triumph in the treble-winning season of 09-10, Inter have only got past the quarter-finals once, when they reached the final but were beaten by Manchester City in 2022/23.

If they’re to make the semi-finals this season, they’ll have to overcome Bayern Munich, who they beat for their last European title. Inter would then meet either Barcelona or Dortmund in the semis, with some aforementioned big sides remaining in the other half.

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