Big Ears

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Lore & Background

That first design was distinctly different from the current one and was awarded permanently to Real Madrid in March 1967 after they had won six titles, including the first five competitions from 1956 to 1960. Celtic became the first club to win the cup in its current design in 1967. The replacement trophy, commissioned by UEFA from Jörg Stadelmann, was silver, 74 cm high, and weighed 11 kg. Its shape of the handles earned it the nickname 'big ears' in multiple languages. Between 1967 and 1994, the trophy bore the title 'Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens' in sentence case; AC Milan were the last team to win this type of trophy. Since then, the trophy bears the title fully in capital letters. The current trophy is the sixth and has been in use since 2006, after Liverpool won their fifth European Cup in 2005. Since 2009, Champions League winners have not kept the real trophy, which remains in UEFA's custody at all times. A full-size replica trophy, the Champions League winners trophy, is awarded to the winning club with their name engraved on it. Winning clubs are permitted to make replicas of their own, which must be clearly marked as such and can be a maximum of eighty percent the size of the actual trophy.

In Their Own Story

The stadium was already dark outside, the last stragglers trickling into the concourse, but in the trophy room the Big Ears caught a single beam from the security light and threw it back in a long silver streak across the polished floor. A groundsman, mopping the last of the confetti from the pitch, paused at the glass and pressed his forehead against the cool pane. Behind him, the pitch was empty, the goal nets sagging, the floodlights dimmed to a low amber. He'd been a child when his father first took him to a European final, and the old man had pointed at the cup on the television and said, 'That's what you're playing for, son.' Thirty years on, the son was mopping a pitch, and the daughter of the son was in the stands, screaming for the ears to come home. The trophy didn't care. It just stood there, silver and patient, its two great handles catching the light, waiting for the next pair of hands strong enough to lift it.

Reader's Guide

The trophy itself is a silver cup, 74 cm high, weighing 11 kg, whose two large curved handles — the 'ears' — have defined its identity since the design was settled in 1967. It is the object presented to the winning captain at the final, lifted overhead in the moment that separates champions from runners-up. Because UEFA retains the original trophy since 2009, each winning club receives a full-size replica, identical in form and finish, which is displayed in the club's museum or trophy room. The engraved band around the base lists the names of past champions, and each new winner adds their name, creating a rolling record of the competition's history etched into the silver itself. For fans, the Big Ears are more than a prize; they are the visual shorthand for the entire competition. The anthem, the tunnel walk, the multiple-winner badge on the shirt — all of it orbits around the image of a captain hoisting those two silver ears above a sea of scarves.

Did You Know?

• The original European Cup trophy was donated by L'Équipe, a French sports newspaper, and was awarded permanently to Real Madrid in March 1967.
• The current trophy design was commissioned by UEFA from Jörg Stadelmann, a jeweller from Bern, Switzerland, at a cost of 10,000 Swiss francs.
• Between 1967 and 1994, the trophy bore the title 'Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens' in sentence case; AC Milan were the last team to win this type of trophy.
• Since 2009, the real trophy remains in UEFA's custody at all times; winning clubs receive a full-size replica.
• Five clubs have been permanently awarded the real trophy under the old rules: Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Milan, and Liverpool.