Top 10 Brazilian Football Clubs of All Time

Santos FC, founded in 1912 in the port city of Santos, Sao Paulo, achieved global fame primarily through Pele, who played for the club from 1956 to 1974 and helped them win two Copa Libertadores (1962 and 1963) and two Intercontinental Cups (1962 and 1963). The club won eight Campeonato Brasileiro titles and was the first Brazilian side to be truly recognized as a world-class club internationally. Its 1960s team, nicknamed "O Ballet Branco" (The White Ballet) for its flowing attacking style, is considered one of the greatest club teams in football history.

Sao Paulo Futebol Clube, founded in 1930, is the only Brazilian club to have won three consecutive Copa Libertadores titles — in 1992, 1993, and 2005 — and three Intercontinental/Club World Cup titles, more than any other South American side. The club has won six Campeonato Brasileiro championships and produced dozens of Brazilian internationals, including Cafu, Dida, and Ronaldinho. Under coach Tele Santana in the early 1990s, Sao Paulo played some of the most tactically sophisticated football seen in South America.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, founded in 1910 in Sao Paulo's working-class district of Bom Retiro, has the second-largest fanbase in Brazil after Flamengo, with an estimated 30 million supporters. The club won seven Campeonato Brasileiro titles and two Copa Libertadores (2012), as well as the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup — defeating Chelsea in the final. The "Corinthians Democracy" experiment of the early 1980s, in which players and staff collectively managed the club, remains a landmark in football governance history.

Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, founded in 1914 in Sao Paulo by Italian immigrants, has won the most Campeonato Brasileiro titles of any club — ten in total — and claimed back-to-back Copa Libertadores in 2020 and 2021. The club's fanbase, known as the "Palestra Italia" community and later expanded to a mainstream Brazilian audience, makes Palmeiras one of the three most-supported clubs in the country. Its 2021 Copa Libertadores final victory over Flamengo, decided by a stoppage-time goal from Deyverson, is one of the most dramatic moments in recent South American football.

Gremio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, founded in 1903 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, is the most successful club in Brazilian football south of Sao Paulo and Rio. The club has won two Copa Libertadores (1983 and 1995), one Intercontinental Cup (1983), and three Campeonato Brasileiro titles. Its 1983 Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup double — achieved with a team featuring midfielder Renato Gaucho, now a legendary manager — remains the high point of football in Brazil's southernmost region.

Sport Club Internacional, also from Porto Alegre and Gremio's fiercest rival, won back-to-back Copa Libertadores in 2006 and in 2010 and defeated Barcelona in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup — one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history. The club has won three Campeonato Brasileiro titles and is the only Brazilian club to have defeated a European champion in the Club World Cup final. The Gremio-Internacional derby, known as "Gre-Nal," is considered one of the most intense local derbies in world football.

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, founded in 1921 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, has won two Copa Libertadores (1976 and 1997), four Campeonato Brasileiro titles, and six Copa do Brasil trophies — the most in that competition's history. The club produced Ronaldo Nazario, widely considered the greatest centre-forward of all time, who played for Cruzeiro between 1993 and 1994 before moving to Europe. Cruzeiro's late-1990s side, featuring Ronaldo's replacement Marcelo and midfielder Giovanni, is considered one of the finest South American club teams of that decade.

Clube Atletico Mineiro, founded in 1908 in Belo Horizonte and Cruzeiro's city rival, won its first Copa Libertadores in 2013 in spectacular fashion — defeating Olimpia of Paraguay in a penalty shootout after Ronaldinho scored a last-minute equaliser. The club added a second Libertadores in 2024 and has won three Campeonato Brasileiro titles. Its 2013 Copa Libertadores campaign, arguably the most dramatic in the tournament's modern era, turned the club into a national phenomenon beyond Minas Gerais.

Fluminense Football Club, founded in 1902 in Rio de Janeiro and one of Brazil's oldest clubs, won its first Copa Libertadores in 2023, defeating Boca Juniors in the final in the Maracana — a moment of profound symbolic significance for a club built on Rio's elite sporting traditions. The club has won four Campeonato Brasileiro titles and is closely associated with iconic Rio culture and the Laranjeiras neighborhood. Fluminense's 2023 Libertadores title, led by Argentine coach Fernando Diniz and veteran midfielder Marcelo returning from Real Madrid, was one of the most emotionally resonant moments in recent Brazilian football.

Santos FC, founded in 1912 in the port city of Santos, Sao Paulo, achieved global fame primarily through Pele, who played for the club from 1956 to 1974 and helped them win two Copa Libertadores (1962 and 1963) and two Intercontinental Cups (1962 and 1963). The club won eight Campeonato Brasileiro titles and was the first Brazilian side to be truly recognized as a world-class club internationally. Its 1960s team, nicknamed "O Ballet Branco" (The White Ballet) for its flowing attacking style, is considered one of the greatest club teams in football history.

Sao Paulo Futebol Clube, founded in 1930, is the only Brazilian club to have won three consecutive Copa Libertadores titles — in 1992, 1993, and 2005 — and three Intercontinental/Club World Cup titles, more than any other South American side. The club has won six Campeonato Brasileiro championships and produced dozens of Brazilian internationals, including Cafu, Dida, and Ronaldinho. Under coach Tele Santana in the early 1990s, Sao Paulo played some of the most tactically sophisticated football seen in South America.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, founded in 1910 in Sao Paulo's working-class district of Bom Retiro, has the second-largest fanbase in Brazil after Flamengo, with an estimated 30 million supporters. The club won seven Campeonato Brasileiro titles and two Copa Libertadores (2012), as well as the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup — defeating Chelsea in the final. The "Corinthians Democracy" experiment of the early 1980s, in which players and staff collectively managed the club, remains a landmark in football governance history.

Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, founded in 1914 in Sao Paulo by Italian immigrants, has won the most Campeonato Brasileiro titles of any club — ten in total — and claimed back-to-back Copa Libertadores in 2020 and 2021. The club's fanbase, known as the "Palestra Italia" community and later expanded to a mainstream Brazilian audience, makes Palmeiras one of the three most-supported clubs in the country. Its 2021 Copa Libertadores final victory over Flamengo, decided by a stoppage-time goal from Deyverson, is one of the most dramatic moments in recent South American football.

Gremio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, founded in 1903 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, is the most successful club in Brazilian football south of Sao Paulo and Rio. The club has won two Copa Libertadores (1983 and 1995), one Intercontinental Cup (1983), and three Campeonato Brasileiro titles. Its 1983 Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup double — achieved with a team featuring midfielder Renato Gaucho, now a legendary manager — remains the high point of football in Brazil's southernmost region.

Sport Club Internacional, also from Porto Alegre and Gremio's fiercest rival, won back-to-back Copa Libertadores in 2006 and in 2010 and defeated Barcelona in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup — one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history. The club has won three Campeonato Brasileiro titles and is the only Brazilian club to have defeated a European champion in the Club World Cup final. The Gremio-Internacional derby, known as "Gre-Nal," is considered one of the most intense local derbies in world football.

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, founded in 1921 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, has won two Copa Libertadores (1976 and 1997), four Campeonato Brasileiro titles, and six Copa do Brasil trophies — the most in that competition's history. The club produced Ronaldo Nazario, widely considered the greatest centre-forward of all time, who played for Cruzeiro between 1993 and 1994 before moving to Europe. Cruzeiro's late-1990s side, featuring Ronaldo's replacement Marcelo and midfielder Giovanni, is considered one of the finest South American club teams of that decade.

Clube Atletico Mineiro, founded in 1908 in Belo Horizonte and Cruzeiro's city rival, won its first Copa Libertadores in 2013 in spectacular fashion — defeating Olimpia of Paraguay in a penalty shootout after Ronaldinho scored a last-minute equaliser. The club added a second Libertadores in 2024 and has won three Campeonato Brasileiro titles. Its 2013 Copa Libertadores campaign, arguably the most dramatic in the tournament's modern era, turned the club into a national phenomenon beyond Minas Gerais.

Fluminense Football Club, founded in 1902 in Rio de Janeiro and one of Brazil's oldest clubs, won its first Copa Libertadores in 2023, defeating Boca Juniors in the final in the Maracana — a moment of profound symbolic significance for a club built on Rio's elite sporting traditions. The club has won four Campeonato Brasileiro titles and is closely associated with iconic Rio culture and the Laranjeiras neighborhood. Fluminense's 2023 Libertadores title, led by Argentine coach Fernando Diniz and veteran midfielder Marcelo returning from Real Madrid, was one of the most emotionally resonant moments in recent Brazilian football.