(My answer)
Five different English clubs have won the tournament for a total of 13 titles but before we get into the specifics lets look at the nature of this tournament. Its history predates the 1990s.
The UEFA Champions League is the current version of Europe’s most prestigious Club competition that was first played in 1955/1956. The original name of the tournament was the European Cup and upon founding was open only to the champions of all European countries with football leagues.
The Iconic European Cup/Champions League trophy nicknamed ‘Old Jug Ears’
source: Goal.com
In 1992/93 the tournament was renamed the UEFA Champions League.
The pre-1991/92 version (this is not a typo) of the tournament was a home-and-away two legged affair that used a knockout format similar to the domestic cups. The final was a one off game as it is today (usually played during the week with Saturday finals becoming a reality only a decade ago).
In earlier competitions there was no seeding but teams from the continent’s top leagues (the ‘Big Boys’) were often given a first round bye.
Later versions of the European Cup made use of various mind numbing algorithms (some more cumbersome than others) to ensure that the various favourites didn’t play each each other in the early rounds.
Wall of Champions up to 2017. Real Madrid won the first five tournaments.
source: livesportworld.com
Defending champions were automatically offered a spot in the following year’s tournament even if they failed to win their domestic league title.
From 1991/1992 onward season’s tournament was characterized by a group stage (or two at one point) followed by a home-and-away knockout phase.
A big change occurred in 1997 when the tournament was expanded to include some of the top placed teams in the various big leagues in addition to the respective champion. Revenue was the key driver here at a time when the market appeal of the tournament increased rapidly.
The English Premier League at present is entitled to send its top four teams to the tournament.
Liverpool celebrating their win in 2019. source: Marca.com
Half a decade ago the winner of the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup) was given an automatic berth into the Champions League.
Manchester United were the first English team to win the European Cup when they defeated Portuguese side Benfica 4–1 in 1968. They were however not the first British team to achieve success in the European Cup. That honour goes to Glasgow Celtic who were 2–1 victors over Inter Milan the previous year. This 1967 Celtic team remain the only Scottish outfit to win the Cup.
Since then Liverpool have proved to be England’s most successful with six titles to their pedigree. Only Real Madrid with a mammoth 13 titles and AC Milan with 7 have been more successful than the Reds.
Manchester United have three titles altogether, Nottingham Forest have two to boast while Aston Villa and Chelsea each have one title.
All in all this brings the number to 13. In addition English teams have been runners-up on 9 occasions. There have been two all-England finals. The last one occurred in 2019 when Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspurs 2–0.
How does this compare to other European countries?
Well Spain is still the all-time leader with its two powerhouses (Real Madrid and Barcelona) savouring 18 titles betwewn the two of them. However the English total of 13 is one ahead of Italy and six in advance of Germany.
Where the English teams shine is that they have the most number of different winners with Five. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands each have three different winners.
Source: History | UEFA Champions League
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