Since 1971, Sporting Club Portugal has taken part in the UEFA Europa League the maximum number of times

The UEFA Europa League was established in 1971 as a competition for the teams that did not have the mettle to reach the Champions League (formerly European Cup) every year. However, the Europa League is still a competitive tournament and, irrespective of that, a few teams have played in the competition almost every year. Therefore, in this article, we have listed those clubs that have taken part in the Europa League the maximum number of times. 

Sporting Clube de Portugal, 34 times in 50 years

Founded in 1902, Sporting CP is one of the premier football clubs in Portugal. The club, because of its rich history, is famous, but it rose to a special stature for nurturing Cristiano Ronaldo in his early days. Unfortunately, irrespective of taking part in the competition 34 times, Sporting CP never won the title. When it comes to international competitions, the club has only won a European Cup Winners’ Cup and a UEFA Intertoto Cup. 

Club Brugge, one runners-up medal in 32 outings

In Belgium, Club Brugge is the second most successful club after Anderlecht with 17 domestic titles. Club Brugge holds a unique record of participating in the Europa League a record consecutive 20 times. In 32 outings, the club reached the last match once in 1975/76 but lost and ended up as the runners-up, whereas, in 1987/88, Club Brugge reached the semi-final stage. Not to forget, in the UEFA Champions League, Club Brugge reached the finals once in 1977/78. 

FudbalskiklubCrvena Zvezda AKA Red Star Belgrade

Red Star Belgrade or FudbalskiklubCrvenazvezda is the most successful club from Balkans and South-East Europe with 32 Serbian national championships and 24 national cups registered to their name. So far, the club has visited the Europa League on 29 occasions, but they never won a title. The club reached the last match in 1978/79 but lost the game. However, the club won the UEFA Champions League in 1990/91. 

Inter Milan should not be on this list

Inter Milan should not be on this list because they are undoubtedly one of the biggest clubs in the world and therefore, they should not have featured so many times in the Europa League. In our opinion, their ideal place is in the Champions League. So far, the club has visited the Europa League on 28 occasions. Last but not the least, Milan picked up the trophy thrice in 1990/91, 1993/94 and 1997/98.