Best players never to win the Champions League
A look at the finest footballers in the men's game never to have won Europe's premier club competition...
It did not used to be like this. Before the European Cup was revamped in the early 1990s and rebranded as the Champions League, it was arguably more difficult to win the old UEFA Cup.
Only the champions from each country went into the European Cup and with a knockout format all the way through, it was possible to win the competition without playing too many top teams.
The inception of the Champions League changed all that. Yes, it meant a club could go on to claim the trophy without winning their own domestic league; but it also gave strength in depth to the competition. All of the best teams were there.
So while many elite footballers missed out on the European Cup in previous decades because their teams weren't winning domestic leagues, most top players have had a good amount of tries at winning the competition since then.
And most elite players have won it, but there are some notable exceptions. Here, a look at the finest footballers (all retired, as of January 2024) to have played in but not won the Champions League...
32. Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie spent eight seasons at Arsenal and three at Manchester United, making the controversial move to Old Trafford in 2012 to win the Premier League.
That goal was achieved in Sir Alex Ferguson's final season, but the Dutch forward finished his career without a Champions League trophy. He came close, though, as an unused substitute in Arsenal's defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 final. As a youngster at Feyenoord, he won the UEFA Cup in 2002.
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31. Phillip Cocu
Phillip Cocu won 101 caps for the Netherlands and enjoyed a fine club career at PSV Eindhoven (across two spells) and Barcelona in the 1990s and 2000s.
The midfielder won the Eredivisie four times and La Liga once, but was on the losing side in three Champions League semi-finals – two with Barça and one at PSV.
30. Michael Owen
Michael Owen faded as injuries took their toll later in his career, but the former England forward was an extraordinary player in his early years.
His Liverpool legacy tarnished in the eyes of Reds fans after he joined fierce rivals Manchester United later in his career, Owen won a UEFA Cup with the Anfield club in 2001 but missed their epic Champions League win in 2005 after joining Real Madrid the previous summer. He was an unused substitute as United lost the 2011 final to Barcelona at Wembley.
29. Romario
One of the greatest Brazilian players of all time, Romario scored 55 goals in 70 appearances for his country and starred in the South Americans' 1994 World Cup win.
The legendary forward came close to winning the Champions League as he reached the final with Barcelona in 1994, but the Catalans were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by AC Milan in Athens. He was also Champions League top scorer in 1992/93, but spent most of his career back in Brazil after 1995.
28. Laurent Blanc
A French international from 1989, Laurent Blanc got better with age and the final years of his career were the best: he won the World Cup in 1998, the Euros in 2000, and had spells at Barcelona, Marseille, Inter and Manchester United.
The centre-back signed for Barça because of Johan Cruyff, but the Dutchman left on the day he joined. Injured late in the season, he played no part in the European Cup Winners' Cup win in 1997, nor in the Copa del Rey final. Later, he won a Premier League title at United, but was on the bench in both legs as the Red Devils lost to Real Madrid in the 2003 Champions League quarter-finals and retired that summer.
27. Dimitar Berbatov
For a period in the 2000s, Dimitar Berbatov was one of the best players in the world. And although the Bulgarian was part of a successful side at Manchester United, the striker's move to Old Trafford did not quite live up to expectations.
A beaten Champions League finalist with Bayer Leverkusen in 2002, Berbatov was brought on for Manchester United after 66 minutes against Barcelona in the 2009 final. Four minutes later, Lionel Messi scored Barça's second goal. Two years on, he was left out altogether in a repeat final against the Blaugrana as Sir Alex Ferguson bizarrely picked Michael Owen on the bench ahead of him.
26. Alan Shearer
If Alan Shearer had joined Manchester United instead of Newcastle United in the summer of 1996, his career would have been a lot different.
Shearer has admitted he was close to joining United before another chat with Magpies manager Kevin Keegan convinced him to head home. The former England striker played in just three Champions League campaigns – one at Blackburn Rovers and two with Newcastle – throughout his career and his best return was making it to the second group stage with the Magpies in 2002/03.
25. Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola was one of the most exciting players of his generation and the former forward can consider himself unfortunate to have won just 35 caps for Italy.
Zola's only league title came in Serie A as a young understudy to the great Diego Maradona at Napoli in 1990. Later, he enjoyed success with both Parma and Chelsea, winning a UEFA Cup with the Italian side and a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with the Blues – plus UEFA Super Cups with both teams. He made just two appearances as Napoli reached the last 16 of the European Cup in 1991 and helped Chelsea to the quarter-finals in his only Champions League campaign in 1999/2000.
24. Robert Pires
A World Cup winner and European champion with France, Robert Pires won 79 caps for Les Bleus and scored 14 goals in an eight-year international career.
Pires spent his best years at Arsenal and his last-ever appearance for the Gunners was in the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona in Paris. It wasn't a happy ending.
23. Miroslav Klose
It is fair to say that Miroslav Klose's exploits at international level – all-time top scorer for Germany, World Cup Golden Shoe in 2006 and champion in 2014 – eclipsed his achievements at club level.
Klose won two Bundesliga titles at Bayern Munich and a few cups at the Bavarian club, plus one each at Werder Bremen and Lazio. A Champions League finalist in 2010, he was left on the bench until the 63rd minute by coach Louis van Gaal and seven minutes later, Diego Milito scored Inter's second to clinch the title in Madrid.
22. Giorgio Chiellini
One of Italy's great defenders, Giorgio Chiellini captained the Azzurri to European Championship success at Euro 2020 and won over 100 caps for his country.
At club level, the centre-back featured in all nine consecutive Serie A titles for Juventus between 2012 and 2020, but came up just short in the Champions League, losing in the final to Barcelona in 2015 and to Real Madrid two years later.
21. Luis Enrique
Luis Enrique won 62 caps for Spain between 1991 and 2002 and played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona in an impressive career.
More associated with Barcelona, the midfielder won trophies at both teams, including a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup at the Catalan club. In the Champions League, he reached the semi-finals with Barça in 2000 and 2002. He would win it later as coach, though, leading the Blaugrana to the trophy and a treble triumph in 2014/15.
20. Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero spent a decade at Manchester City and left the club as their all-time top scorer – and also a legend – in the summer of 2021.
The Argentine striker had the chance to bow out in style in his final game as City faced Chelsea in the Champions League final, but he played only the last 13 minutes as Pep Guardiola's side were edged out by a Kai Havertz goal in Porto. After joining Barcelona that summer, Aguero was forced to retire due to a heart condition in October 2021 and therefore also missed Argentina's World Cup win the following year.
19. Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram could play at centre-back or at right-back and the French defender was one of the best in the world in either position.
A World Cup winner and European champion with France, Thuram was capped 142 times by Les Bleus and accumulated a series of trophies in his career – including a UEFA Cup at Parma in 1999. He was unlucky to miss out on the Champions League as Juventus lost in the final to AC Milan on penalties in 2003.
18. Hernan Crespo
One of the best strikers of his generation, Hernan Crespo spent most of his career in Italy – where he played for Lazio, Inter, Parma, AC Milan and Genoa – and the Argentine also had a spell at Chelsea.
He had some near misses in the Champions League. At Inter, he lost in the semi-finals to AC Milan on away goals in 2003 – even though both matches were played at San Siro. And as a Milan player in 2005, he scored twice to put the Rossoneri 3-0 up against Liverpool at half-time in Istanbul, only to lose out as the Reds mounted an epic second-half comeback and won on penalties. And when Milan won it in 2007, he was back at Inter. Guess it just wasn't meant to be...
17. Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro was Italy's World Cup-winning captain in 2006 and a Ballon d'Or winner that same year.
The central defender left Juventus for Real Madrid after the Calciopoli scandal and won two La Liga titles in Spain, but he never got close to a Champions League crown. He did win a UEFA Cup with Parma back in 1998/99, though.
16. Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira was one of Europe's best midfielders in his prime and played for Arsenal, Juventus and Inter – as well as at AC Milan and Manchester City in shorter spells.
Vieira left the Gunners for Juventus a year before their run to the 2006 Champions League final, having previously turned down a move to Real Madrid. At Juve and Inter, he didn't come close to success in the Champions League, but won plenty across his career – including three league titles in both England and Italy, plus a World Cup and a European Championship with France.
15. Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud van Nistelrooy spent five years at Manchester United and four at Real Madrid between 2001 and 2010, but never went beyond the semi-finals of the Champions League.
In the Dutch striker's first season at Old Trafford, United lost out to eventual winners Real Madrid in the last four. And while he was playing for Los Blancos, Sir Alex Ferguson's side won the competition in 2008. Right clubs, wrong time.
14. George Weah
George Weah is one of the greatest African footballers of all time and the Liberian forward won the Ballon d'Or in 1995.
After losing to AC Milan in the 1994/95 Champions League semi-finals with Paris Saint-Germain, Weah moved to the Italian club that summer. His time at San Siro yielded two Serie A titles, but disappointment in Europe.
13. Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack wore the number 13 for most of his career and the former Germany midfielder was certainly unlucky in the big finals.
Although he accumulated leagues and cups galore at Bayern Munich and Chelsea, plus a Bundesliga title in his early days with Kaiserslautern, Ballack was on the losing side in a World Cup final, a European Championship final and two Champions League finals – one with Bayer Leverkusen and another at Chelsea.
12. David Silva
David Silva is a World Cup winner and two-time European champion with Spain and a legend at Manchester City, where he spent 10 seasons between 2010 and 2020.
Silva helped City to the Champions League semi-finals in 2016, but had left the club by the time they cracked the competition, reaching the final in 2021 and then winning the trophy two years later as part of a treble triumph under Pep Guardiola.
11. Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas played for Arsenal in the Gunners' Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in 2006 and was linked with a return to the Catalan club every summer after that until finally making the move in 2011.
The midfielder spent three years at Camp Nou, but each of those seasons were difficult for different reasons. He featured in two semi-finals in that time and despite winning an array of silverware overall – including the World Cup and two Euros titles with Spain – in an impressive career, he never did get his hands on the Champions League.
10. Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp's last-ever match was spent sat on the bench as Arsenal lost the 2006 Champions League final to Barcelona in Paris.
After Jens Lehmann's red card, the Gunners tried to hang on to their 1-0 lead with 10 men and the Dutch legend was a mere spectator as he was denied a dream finale at the end of a wonderful career. Earlier, he won a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup at Ajax and the UEFA Cup with both the Amsterdam club and Inter. He was so close to completing the set.
9. Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Batistuta is one of the greatest strikers in history and was Argentina's top scorer until he was overtaken by Lionel Messi, but he never got close to winning the Champions League.
"Batigol" spent nine seasons at Fiorentina and only featured in the Champions League in his final season in Florence. He then moved to Roma where he finally won Serie A, but success on the continent eluded him.
8. Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti spent his entire career at Roma and that loyalty almost certainly cost him the chance of winning Europe's premier club competition.
Totti rejected a number of offers to leave, including several from Real Madrid, and earned legend status at Roma. The Giallorossi reached the quarter-finals twice in Totti's time at the club, losing to Manchester United in consecutive seasons. He did win the World Cup, though – and eternal love from romanisti.
7. Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona was key to Manchester United's success under Sir Alex Ferguson in the mid-1990s, but the French forward had retired by the time the Red Devils won the Champions League in 1999.
United and Cantona came closest in 1997, but were beaten home and away by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals and he shocked the club by announcing his retirement that summer – at the age of just 30.
6. Pavel Nedved
Pavel Nedved was instrumental in leading Juventus to the Champions League final in 2003, scoring a superb goal as the Bianconeri overturned a 2-1 deficit in the first leg with an impressive 3-1 win in Turin.
But the Czech midfielder missed the final due to an accumulation of yellow cards and Juve were not the same without him, losing on penalties to AC Milan. He won the Ballon d'Or in 2003, but never did win the Champions League.a
5. Lothar Matthaus
Lothar Matthaus left the pitch against Manchester United at Camp Nou with the Champions League seemingly in Bayern Munich's grasp. At the age of 38, he was about to win the European Cup at last.
But Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had other ideas, producing an epic late turnaround to win the trophy for United. Matthaus had suffered similarly in the 1987 final against Porto, when two late goals had turned the match around in Vienna. One was tough to take, twice was cruel – and he never did win it. The midfielder did win plenty of other trophies though, including the World Cup, in a brilliant career.
4. Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon is one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and the legendary Italian ended his career in 2023 with an array of silverware – including the World Cup.
But the Champions League was the one that got away. Buffon saved two penalties against AC Milan in a shootout in the 2003 final, but still ended up on the losing side. And he was in goal as Juventus were beaten by Barcelona and Real Madrid in the 2015 and 2017 finals. So unlucky.
3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
When Zlatan Ibrahimovic was presented as a Barcelona player in the summer of 2009, he told the media at Camp Nou that he had joined the Catalan club "to win the Champions League".
Instead, his former club Inter won it that season. When he left Barça the following year, they won it again. And by the time he had joined AC Milan, they were no longer challengers in Europe's premier club competition. Likewise Manchester United, although he did win the Europa League with the Red Devils.
2. Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio might be Italy's best-ever player and it is unfortunate that such a wonderful career is remembered by many because of a miss – the penalty he fired over the bar in the 1994 World Cup shootout against Brazil.
Having dragged the Azzurri through that tournament, Baggio was not fully fit for the final. The "Divine Ponytail" deserved better. He also merited more than his 58 caps. And probably more trophies, too. He won the UEFA Cup at Juventus, but didn't get close in the Champions League – despite playing for Juve, Inter and AC Milan.
1. Ronaldo
Ronaldo is widely considered as the greatest number 9 of all time and the brilliant Brazilian played for some of Europe's biggest clubs – Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
But while those teams have won plenty of Champions Leagues between them, Ronaldo never did. He helped Barça win the Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 and Inter to the UEFA Cup the following year, but did not get beyond the Champions League semi-finals at Real Madrid and was cup-tied as Milan won the trophy in 2007.
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Ben Hayward is the Weekend Editor of FourFourTwo. A European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.
