- With a fifth title, Estudiantes would draw level with Peñarol in third place on the all-time roll of honor, behind Independiente and Boca.
- With a fourth, Palmeiras would join Estudiantes, Flamengo and River Plate, and draw level with Flamengo as the Brazilian club with the most titles.
Every CONMEBOL Libertadores Final adds a line to the all-time roll of honor, and the one on Saturday, November 28, could reshape one of its highest rungs. Estudiantes arrive with four titles and Palmeiras with three. If the 'Pincha' win, they will draw level with Peñarol in third place; if the 'Verdão' win, they will join the group of clubs with four crowns, alongside Estudiantes themselves, Flamengo and River Plate. Since 1960, 27 clubs from seven countries have lifted the trophy, and only six have reached four or more. This is how the table stands ahead of the Final at Montevideo's Estadio Centenario, and this is what could change.
Seven: Independiente
At the top sit Independiente, the 'Rey de Copas'. They won in 1964 and 1965, strung together four titles between 1972 and 1975, added a seventh in 1984 and never lost a Final. On the way to the first, they beat Santos at the Maracanã in the Semifinal: according to Opta, they remain the only Argentine club to have won a knockout match in the competition at that stadium. Ricardo Bochini was part of five of those triumphs, and Uruguayan Ricardo Pavoni also won five, all with the 'Rojo'. Francisco 'Pancho' Sá, the player with the most titles in the competition's history, won his with the Independiente of the 1970s and with Juan Carlos Lorenzo's Boca. Those seven titles were the mark Boca were chasing in this edition.
Six: Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors won in 1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007, and played in six other Finals, the last in 2023 against Fluminense: with 12, they are the club that has reached the decider the most times. Three of their titles came on penalties: in 1977, in the playoff against Cruzeiro at the Centenario, with Hugo Gatti's save from Vanderlei, and in 2000 and 2001. In those two, the coach was Carlos Bianchi, the most successful coach in the competition's history, with four titles (one with Vélez and three with the 'Xeneize').
Five: Peñarol
Peñarol complete the podium. They won the first two editions, in 1960 and 1961, with Alberto Spencer, the competition's all-time top scorer, and celebrated again in 1966, 1982 and 1987, the last of those with a goal from Diego Aguirre in the final minute of extra time in the playoff against América de Cali in Santiago, Chile. They were also runners-up five times, most recently in 2011 against Santos. This is the rung Estudiantes are aiming for.
Four: Estudiantes, Flamengo and River Plate
Estudiantes defined an era under Osvaldo Zubeldía: they won three straight titles, against Palmeiras (their opponents in this edition) in 1968, Nacional in 1969 and Peñarol in 1970, and added a fourth in 2009, at the Mineirão against Cruzeiro, with Juan Sebastián Verón on the field and Alejandro Sabella on the bench. Flamengo are the reigning champions: they won in 1981 and three times in the last seven editions, in 2019, 2022 and 2025, with Giorgian de Arrascaeta part of all three celebrations. River Plate lifted the trophy in 1986, 1996, 2015 and 2018, the year of the last Argentine title.
Three: Palmeiras and five other clubs
Palmeiras won in 1999 and were back-to-back champions in 2020 and 2021 under Abel Ferreira. They share the rung with Nacional (1971, 1980 and 1988), Olimpia (1979, 1990 and 2002), Santos (1962, 1963 and 2011), São Paulo (1992, 1993 and 2005) and Grêmio (1983, 1995 and 2017). Further down are Cruzeiro, Internacional and Atlético Nacional, with two titles each, and 12 other clubs with one: Racing, Argentinos Juniors, Colo-Colo, Vélez Sarsfield, Vasco da Gama, Once Caldas, LDU Quito, Corinthians, Atlético Mineiro, San Lorenzo, Fluminense and Botafogo.
What could change in Montevideo
If Estudiantes win, they will draw level with Peñarol, behind Independiente and Boca, and move clear of Flamengo and River. The 'Pincha' have won four of the five Finals they have played: their only defeat came in 1971, against Nacional, in a tie decided by a playoff in Lima. They could also celebrate at the Centenario for a third time: it was there that they celebrated their 1968 and 1970 titles. It would also be the first Argentine title since River's in 2018.
If Palmeiras win, they will join Estudiantes, Flamengo and River, and draw level with Flamengo as the Brazilian club with the most titles. Of their seven previous Finals, they won three, the last in 2021, at the Centenario. This will be their second consecutive Final, something they had already done in 1999 and 2000 and in 2020 and 2021, and their fourth in their last seven appearances. According to Opta, they are also the Brazilian club with the most Semifinal appearances, 13, and the last time they had knocked out a rival from their own country at that stage, in 2021, they went on to lift the trophy. The Final in Montevideo will be their eighth: no other club from their country has played in as many, and only Boca and Peñarol have played in more. For Abel Ferreira, it will also be the chance to win a third 'Eternal Glory'.
