Football is at its most exciting when it's competitive and when every team in the division believes they have an outside shot at winning the league that season. However, while this may have been the idea the originators of league football had in mind, it often hasn't turned out that way.

In so many leagues across the world, one or several dominant forces have emerged and taken their nation's top flight in a vice-like grip, making it almost impossible for anyone to threaten their supremacy. This leads to prolonged title-winning streaks in which one team wins numerous consecutive titles, sometimes going into the double figures.

All five of Europe's top leagues, the English Premier League, the French Ligue 1, the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A and the Spanish La Liga, have their own elite teams and this article will look at the longest title-winning streaks of all these divisions. Many are recent, due to the injection of mega riches into the game making it even easier for the biggest sides to widen the gap between them and those below them, but some date all the way back to the 1920s and 30s. Any shared records are listed in chronological order.

11 Huddersfield Town

Three consecutive titles - 1924-1926

It may seem an unlikely place to start, but Huddersfield Town were the first club in English football history to win three league titles in a row. Under the guidance of legendary football manager Herbert Chapman, who revolutionised the game with his deployment of the W-M formation, the Terriers won their first-ever league title in the 1923/24 season, edging out second-placed Cardiff City on goal average, the forerunner to goal difference.

Huddersfield retained their title the following year, thanks in no small part to their sturdy defence, but lost their manager to Arsenal in the 1925 close-season. However, under Chapman's successor Cecil Potter, the South Yorkshire outfit were still able to win their third consecutive league title and remained a competitive side for the entire period leading up to World War Two, although they never won the league again.

10 Arsenal

Three consecutive titles - 1933-1935

After Herbert Chapman left Huddersfield for North London in 1925, he had a slightly more difficult time moulding the Arsenal team in his own image, before eventually winning them their first-ever league title in the 1930/31 season. Everton prevented them from retaining the crown the following campaign, but the Gunners bounced back in the 1932/33 season, winning the league having earned four more points than second-placed Aston Villa.

Arsenal suffered the shock of Hebert Chapman's death midway through the following season, but were still able to retain their crown under caretaker manager Joe Shaw as they edged out Chapman's former team by three points, despite Huddersfield scoring fifteen more goals. Goals were not an issue in the 1934/35 season, with centre forward Ted Drake bagging 44 as the Gunners won their third consecutive league title under permanent new manager, George Allison.

9 Liverpool

Three consecutive titles - 1982-1984

English football had to wait nearly 60 years for its next record-equalling title-winning streak, and it came right in the middle of one of the most dominant spells by one club in its history. Liverpool had won four of the previous six available championships, but had been unable to put together a streak of three before the 1981/82 season rolled around, and the Reds finished top of the table for the 13th time.

Bob Paisley's side made it two in a row the next campaign, finishing 11 points ahead of second-placed Watford. Liverpool finally completed the streak in the 1983/84 season, winning the league title by three points ahead of Southampton and also bagging their fourth European Cup in seven years, with a penalty shoot-out victory over Roma.

8 Manchester United

Three consecutive titles - 1999-2001

Manchester United were the dominant force in English football during the 1990s and had won four of the first six Premier League titles up for grabs, with both attempts at a three-in-the-row being thwarted by Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal respectively. The 1998/99 season was the most successful in the club's history as they won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League to complete the first-ever treble in English football history.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side eased their way to a second consecutive title in the 1999/00 season, finishing on 91 points, a whole 18 ahead of runners-up Arsenal. They were able to retain their crown the following campaign, avoiding any drama of a title race by finishing 10 points ahead of the Gunners and becoming the fourth team in English football to win three league titles in a row.

7 Manchester United

Three consecutive titles - 2007-2009

Arsenal's success in 2001/02 prevented Man United from making the record their own, but they were given another crack at the whip towards the end of the 2000s. After three years had passed without them winning the league title, the Red Devils returned to the summit in the 2006/07 season, finishing six points clear of Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.

They retained their crown the following season, and also won the Champions League for a third time, thanks in no small part to the outstanding performances of Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 42 goals in all competitions. United completed their second title-winning streak in 2008/09, equalling Liverpool's record of 18 league titles in the process, but were again denied a chance to make it four in a row, this time by Chelsea.

6 Manchester City

Three consecutive titles - 2021-2023

As of May 2024, Manchester City have the chance to make it four in a row and earn this record in their own right should they win the Premier League in the 2023/24 season. Under Pep Guardiola, City became the fifth team in English football history to win three league titles in a row, starting with the 2020/21 campaign, in which they recovered from a shaky start to finish 12 points clear of arch rivals, Manchester United.

The following season, they were involved in one of the most thrilling title races in Premier League history with Liverpool, but a comeback against Aston Villa on the final day allowed them to retain their place on the throne. In 2022/23, bolstered by Erling Haaland who broke the record for most goals in a Premier League season, City won their third consecutive league title, along with the FA Cup and Champions League.

5 Real Madrid

Five consecutive titles - 1961-1965

Real Madrid are the most successful team in Spain and their success spilled out onto the rest of the continent in the 1950s as they won the first five European Cups on offer between 1956 and 1960. After that run, they turned their attention back to domestic football and became the first-ever team in Spanish football to win five league titles in a row between 1961 and 1965.

Los Blancos enjoyed particularly successful campaigns in 1960/61 and 1962/63, with a lot of their success down to the goalscoring exploits of iconic Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas, who bagged 54 league goals across the two seasons and helped his side comfortably finish as the league's top scorers on both occasions. In 1961, 1963 and 1965, they had the distinct pleasure of beating Atletico Madrid to first place, but it was their city rivals who brought their run to an end in 1965/66.

4 Real Madrid

Five consecutive titles - 1986-1990

Real Madrid were able to equal their own record of five consecutive league titles in the second half of the 1980s as they ended a drought of six years without lifting the trophy. The addition of stars such as Hugo Sanchez, Francisco Buyo and Chenda to the homegrown talents of Emilio Butragueno, Michel and Rafael Vazquez saw Los Blancos become a force to be reckoned with once again.

Real won both the league and UEFA Cup in the 1985/86 season before edging out Barcelona in a particularly gruelling 1986/87 campaign in which the league was temporarily expanded, meaning all clubs had to play an extra ten matches. The Spanish giants eased their way to the title in the following three seasons, bagging over 100 goals in the 1989/90 season as they finished 11 points clear of second-placed Valencia.

3 Lyon

Seven consecutive titles - 2002-2008

French football has always been fiercely competitive since the introduction of Ligue 1 in 1930, with Marseille and Saint-Etienne jointly holding the record of four consecutive league titles until Lyon came along in the early 2000s. Lyon's 2001/02 title win was the first in the club's 103-year history and no-one could have anticipated that they'd kick on and win the next six in a row.

Lyon's 2005/06 season was particularly impressive as they finished on 84 points, 15 ahead of second-placed Bordeaux and with 73 goals to their name. However, as of 2024, they have not won the top flight since and with PSG becoming a dominant force in French football since their Qatari takeover in 2011, it may not be a record that stands for many years longer.

2 Juventus

Nine consecutive titles - 2012-2020

Juventus are by far the most successful football team in Italy and in 2010, they saw their own record of five consecutive titles, set between the years 1931 and 1935, equalled by Inter Milan. However, the 2010s were completely dominated by the Old Lady, who won nine league titles in a row between the years 2012 and 2020.

Their 2013/14 success, under the guidance of Antonio Conte, was particularly remarkable as Juventus became the first side in Italian top flight history to break the 100-point mark, having won 33 of their 38 matches. The final title of the run in 2019/20 was far from convincing, as Juve edged out Inter by a single point before proceeding to slump to fourth place in the following campaign.

1 Bayern Munich

11 consecutive titles - 2013-2023

Bayern Munich, the best team in German football, hold the record for most consecutive titles across Europe's top five leagues with 11. After the Bavarians had been denied the title twice by Borussia Dortmund in 2011 and 2012,they retaliated in the most emphatic fashion in the 2012/13 season, finishing a staggering 25 points ahead of BVB in the table, before beating them in the Champions League final, thanks to Arjen Robben's last-gasp winner.

This extraordinary campaign set in motion an extraordinary spell of dominance from Bayern as they won the next ten league titles in a row, obliterating their previous record of three that they'd shared with Borussia Monchengladbach. The 2022/23 season saw them rely on a slip-up from champions-elect Borussia Dortmund on the final day to win the league before Bayer Leverkusen brought their run to an end in the following campaign.