10 Greatest Players to Never Win the Champions League

10 Greatest Players to Never Win the Champions League

The Champions League is without a doubt the biggest club competition in the world and to win it is a fantastic achievement. There have been many fantastic players over the years that have held the trophy for teams such as Real Madrid, AC Milan and Liverpool.

However, some very talented players, who would be considered some of the greatest of their time, have played many times in the competition for a variety of massive clubs but have never quite got their hands on the trophy.

10 Greatest Players to Never Win the Champions League

10. Harry Kane

Harry Kane is without a doubt one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history; however, his trophy cabinet isn’t as good. During his time at Tottenham Hotspur, he did in fact reach the Champions League final, but his side were beaten by Liverpool on the night.

However, England’s record goalscorer does, in fact, have a chance to get his hands on the trophy, as Bayern Munich currently find themselves in the Round of 16 in this current campaign.

9. Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon is second on Juventus’ all-time appearance list and during that time he managed to reach three Champions League finals with the Italian side but failed to be victorious in any of those.

For a goalkeeper argued as one of the best of all time, it really is surprising that playing in some great sides at Juventus and even Paris Saint-Germain, he failed to get his hands on such a trophy.

8. Cesc Fabregas

For a player with over 100 Champions League appearances under his belt with the clubs that he has on his CV, it is astonishing that Cesc Fabregas never managed to win the competition. He was a runner-up with Arsenal in 2006 before making a move to Barcelona, where he missed out a year either side of his time at the club. He made a move back to England, joining Chelsea in 2014 and still it wasn’t to be for him in the Champions League. Maybe he will be more successful as a manager in the competition.

7. Kylian Mbappé

For a player with a price tag such as Kylian Mbappe, you would assume that he had won the Champions League. However, during his time at Paris Saint-Germain they only managed to reach the final and it is since he’s left that they have managed to win their first as a club.

However, with Real Madrid’s record at winning the competition, there is a high chance that Mbappé will end his career with at least one Champions League to his name.

Kylian Mbappé just lost to his former club, PSG, 4-0 in the Club World Cup semi-final.

PSG have also won every other competition they've competed in since he left, including their first Champions League title.

Not what he would've wanted when he chose to join Real Madrid 😕 pic.twitter.com/DcojRwoZcZ

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 9, 2025

6. Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona was one of Manchester United’s most important players during their successful period in the 1990s. He had a brilliant domestic career in England with 82 goals and six major trophies in five seasons at the club; however, that success didn’t quite come to fruition in Europe.

Unfortunately for Cantona, he had left Manchester two seasons prior to the famous treble, which included the Champions League, in 1999 under Sir Alex Ferguson.

5. Denis Bergkamp

Denis Bergkamp had success in Europe in the form of the UEFA Cup; however, he never managed to get his hands on the Champions League trophy. During his time at Arsenal, he managed to reach the quarter-finals in 2004 and the final in 2006, which happened to be the final game of his time at the club.

4. Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira is undoubtedly one of the greatest midfielders that the Premier League has ever seen, and the trophies that he won at both a club and international level help to back that up. However, he got very close to two Champions League trophies without winning any due to him leaving Arsenal and Inter Milan a year and then six months before they both got their hands on the title. Very unlucky!

3. Fabio Cannavaro

A World Cup winner and true great of the game, Fabio Cannavaro didn’t manage to reach the destiny of a Champions League. He really couldn’t have had a much better career, as he became one of the few defenders to be given the Ballon d’Or. However, despite playing for some great clubs during his illustrious career, such as Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid, the defender didn’t manage to add the Champions League to his collection.

Happy birthday to Fabio Cannavaro, the last defender to win the Ballon d'Or turns 50 today. 🥳🎂

Here’s one minute and 43 seconds of him putting his foot in to start your day… 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/OJW0B28ArY

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) September 13, 2023

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The record holder for the most Champions League appearances without ever lifting the trophy is Zlatan Ibrahimović. Much like Vieira, Ibrahimovic left both Inter and Barcelona one season prior to them going all the way in the competition.

In an iconic career, Ibrahimović also played for Ajax, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Manchester United and somehow didn’t manage to achieve European glory.

1. Ronaldo Nazario

Due to his reputation in the game, you would assume that Ronaldo managed to get his hands on the big-eared trophy at some point. However, despite winning the Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona and UEFA Cup’s with Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Ronaldo didn’t manage to win Europe’s greatest club competition.

However, it didn’t affect his reputation in the game, as he still has a World Cup and two Ballon d'Ors on his mantelpiece at home.