Inside the success of OL Lyonnes: Europe’s most decorated football dynasty | OneFootball

OL Lyonnes stands alone as the most successful club in the history of women’s football. Particularly with their record-breaking eight UEFA Women’s Champions League titles, the French giants have set an incredibly high bar.

With their unmatched collection of UWCL trophies, elite player development, and a strong winning mentality, Lyon have long been the benchmark for excellence in the sport.

Where it all started

Formed in 1970 as FC Lyon, the club became Olympique Lyonnais in 2004, which remained until 2025 when the side was renamed to OL Lyonnes.

Once they became Olympique Lyonnais, the results quickly followed, seeing the side become the face of French football. They won the Division 1 Féminine for 14 consecutive seasons, and the Coupe de France a stellar nine times. After missing out on the league title in 2020/21 to PSG, the side replied by winning the following four editions.

After conquering domestic football, European success quickly came. Reaching their first UWCL final in 2009/10, the side lost to Turbine Potsdam on penalties. However, a strong comeback saw Lyon win their first European title against the German side in the following season.

During their European dominance, the side won five consecutive titles from 2016 to 2020, before Barcelona emerged as champions. They won five trebles between 2007 to 2020, the most of any team.

Wendie Renard: Lyon’s ever-present captain

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Joining Lyon in 2006, Renard embodies everything the club stands for. A mainstay in the starting eleven, the French centre-back is one of football’s most decorated stars. Most notably, she won 14 consecutive league titles between 2006 and 2020, whilst also scoring the opening goal in Lyon’s first UWCL win.

On the European stage, Renard holds the record for the most Champions League wins of any player (male or female) with her eight titles. This is a record she shares with former teammate Eugénie Le Sommer.

Despite missing the 2025 Euros Championship under new management, Renard has been awarded almost 170 caps for the French national side. This period has seen her play at a home World Cup and reach a Euro semi-final in 2022.

Ada Hegerberg: A prolific goalscoring machine

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The 30-year-old Norwegian striker is widely regarded as one of the best forwards in the history of women’s football. Following a short spell with Turbine Potsdam, Hegerberg moved to the French giants in the summer of 2014.

An impressive first season saw her score 26 goals in just 22 games, helping guide Lyon to their ninth consecutive league title. This strong form continued as her second season saw her score a hat-trick against big title contenders PSG.

On 3 December 2018, Hegerberg became the first female winner of the Ballon d’Or. The accolades just kept coming for Hegerberg, as in the 2019 season, when she became the UWCL top scorer with 53 goals in 50 matches.

However, her world soon came crashing down when she suffered an ACL injury at the beginning of 2020. A long period on the sidelines saw the striker return in October 2021 before scoring her first goal back in the following month — quickly reminding everyone of her talent. To prove she was still at the top of the game, in the 2021/22 UWCL final, she provided both a goal and an assist against Barcelona to deliver her sixth European title.

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On the international stage, the striker has amassed almost 100 caps in the red of Norway. But disappointing tournament results mean the striker has no international silverware to accompany her glittering club career.

Hegerberg has long been an active voice for the growth and support of women’s football. In 2017, she famously announced that she would be stepping away from international selection due to the federation’s treatment of the women’s side. This meant missing the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

Upon the appointment of a new NFF president, the striker returned to the national side and marked her return with a hat-trick against Kosovo — showing the former president exactly why you invest in the game.

Sonia Bompastor: From elite player to world-class manager

An article about Lyon’s history would not be complete without mentioning Sonia Bompastor, who created history before many were watching. The 45-year-old spent two spells at Lyon, with the first coming between 2006 and 2009.

After moving from Montpellier, the French international won back-to-back league titles alongside the Challenge de France to complete the double in 2008. This short spell with the French giants meant the midfielder/left-back had won four out of a possible six titles.

Returning in 2010, Bompastor captained Lyon to the league title alongside the first UWCL title of her career against Turbine Potsdam.

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The now Chelsea manager was at the heart of a hugely successful Lyon team that repeated its league and Champions League successes in the next season. The club also added the Coupe de France to complete the first treble in Lyon’s history.

Before retiring in 2013, she added another UWCL title against Frankfurt in front of over 55,000 fans. At the time, this was a European record for women’s club football.

Making history

Upon retirement, Bompastor tried her hand at management at the Lyon academy. She spent eight years there before being appointed manager of the first team in 2021. Bompastor was the first woman in club history to hold this position.

During her first season at the helm, she led Les Fenottes to the double, winning both the league and the UWCL. Defeating Barcelona 3-1 in Torino meant Bompastor became the first woman to win Europe’s top competition as both a player and manager.

In total, she lifted seven trophies while in charge of the club.

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Leaving in 2024, she was announced as Emma Hayes’ successor at Chelsea. That set the stage for many questions about whether she could maintain Chelsea’s dominance in England.

Bompastor proved critics wrong with her winning mentality and led Chelsea to an undefeated domestic treble in 2024/25. The Blues became the first club since Arsenal to achieve this feat.

The legacy continues

With the rebranding to OL Lyonnes complete, the club is traversing a new era with the same ambition: total dominance. Having already secured their place in history, the goal now is to widen the gap at the top of European football.

As they pursue a 19th domestic league title and look to add another Champions League trophy to the cabinet, Lyon remains a team to beat. But European competitors like Barcelona, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich have closed the gap.

With Barcelona defending their European crown and former Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor now leading a surging Chelsea side, the path to glory is tougher than ever. But Lyon has never backed down from a fight.

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