Top 10 Players To Have Never Won The Champions League

jonjoward1998
Apr 15
6 min read

I did a European football top 10 earlier in the week last week due to it being a Champions League week. I'm doing the same again this week with it being another Champions League week.

This weeks European Football top 10 is the best players to have never won the Champions League.

Many of the best players in the world have won the Champions League over the years, but there have also been a number of players who haven't won it.

Those players have gone to the very top of their game in terms of being an influential player for their team whether that be scoring lots of goals or being a solid presence in the defence. But despite being as good as they were, they never reached the pinnacle of club football in winning the Champions League.

Some of them may have won everything domestically for their club side, but their careers may not have got the same recognition as other players because of them not winning the Champions League.

All the players in the list are among them and here it is:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Gianluigi Buffon

Ronaldo

Sergio Aguero

David Silva

Antoine Griezmann

Diego Godin

Giorgio Chiellini

David De Gea

Edinson Cavani

David De Gea

De Gea was the best keeper in the world in his prime due to his ability to constantly pull off top class saves time and time again. His saves kept Man United in games time and time again both in the Premier League and on a few occasions in the Champions League.

But despite being the best keeper in the world on his day, he got nowhere near to winning the Champions League with the furthest he reached being the Quarter Finals in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

He was in all fairness part of some Man United sides that were not the strongest as they were a team in decline. He could've won some had that fax machine ahead of his proposed move to Real Madrid worked.

Edinson Cavani

Cavani was a lethal predator in the box in his prime as he could score any kind of goal and was one of the finest finishers of his generation.

But despite that, I felt that he was a bit underrated as he wasn't always placed in the same bracket as some of the other top strikers like Suarez, Lewandowski and Benzema, who have all won the competition.

He scored 35 goals in the Champions League most of which came at PSG where he was part of that famous MCN front three alongside Neymar and Mbappe.

The furthest he reached in the Champions League was the final with PSG in 2020 which they lost to Bayern Munich. Despite getting a runners up medal, he didn't play in the final as he left the club before the final after refusing to sign a short term contract off the back of the COVID pandemic.

Diego Godin

Godin was right up there among the best central defenders in Europe on his day as he was good in air, a good reader of the game, well positioned, and a great leader.

He reached two finals with Atletico Madrid in 2014 and 2016 respectively losing to Real Madrid on both occasions. His solid performances in defence played a key role in Atletico reaching those finals alongside his leadership.

His best chance to win it was probably in 2016 as the Atletico side he was part of was Atletico in their prime under Diego Simeone. They beat both Barcelona and Bayern Munich on their way to the final that year.

Antoine Griezmann

Griezmann is the only player on this list that is still playing in Europe and although he still has another 2-3 years left in him, I don't see him winning the Champions League as Atletico Madrid never reach the latter stages of the competition.

He reached the final with Atletico in 2016 where they lost to Real Madrid on penalties, and he missed a penalty in normal time. That year was the unluckiest of his career as he also lost the final of the Euros with France as well as the Champions League final with Atletico.

He's been a brilliant player for Atletico across both spells he's had at the club and it's a club where he's felt very much at home after a disappointing spell at Barcelona.

David Silva

Silva was a magician with the ball on his day as was a good carrier of the ball, could pick out a pass from almost anywhere on the pitch, and could glide past players with ease.

The Champions League was the only trophy that was missing from his trophy haul at Man City with the furthest he reached in the competition being the semi finals in 2016.

It wasn't until his final few seasons at the club when City were among the favourites to win the competition which was also Pep Guardiola's first few seasons at the club.

He got nowhere winning it during those years as City went out at the Quarter Finals in each of those seasons they were considered as contenders.

Sergio Aguero

Aguero was an exciting young talent at Atletico Madrid and he showed why in this competition with his performances and the goals he scored.

But it was at Man City where he put himself among the best strikers in Europe as he took them onto another level with the goals he scored.

He won everything but the Champions League when he was at City with his final game for the club being their defeat in the 2021 final to Chelsea.

For him to lose that final was just cruel because of it being his last game and what he achieved during his time at club.

Giorgio Chiellini

Chiellini reached the final twice with Juventus in 2015 and 2017, losing on both occasions to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

2017 was arguably the best chance he had of winning it as Juve had more than established themselves as the dominant team in Italy and were very much in their prime as a team.

He was a solid top class defender on his day as he was strong, physical, good in the air, a good reader of the game, and was always well positioned.

He was also a leader and his leadership played a massive role in the success he achieved at Juve and their journey to both finals he was involved with. So did his partnership with Leonardo Bonucci, who could've been on the list.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan won trophies wherever he went. But out of the many trophies he won throughout his career, none of them included the Champions League.

The furthest he got in the competition was the semi finals in 2010 in his only season at Barcelona where it didn't work out for him. He never really fit in with how they played, and Messi was obviously the main which must've frustrated him due to the personality he is.

He scored in this competition for almost every club he played for and is joint 10th in the all-time charts with Alfredo Di Stefano on 49 goals.

He'll still go down as one of the greatest strikers to play the game as he scored all kinds of goals right throughout his career including some ridiculous ones. But not winning the Champions League will be something that he'll regret.

Gianluigi Buffon

Buffon was Italy's World Cup winning captain in 2006 and won everything domestically with Juventus including 10 Serie A titles. But despite all that success he never won the Champions League.

He lost three finals with Juve in 2003, 2015 and 2017 with the latter being the most painful as it was arguably his best and last chance to win the competition due to his age at the time.

That season was very much Juve in their prime and although he did spend another season at Juve before going to PSG, he got nowhere the final in both seasons.

Goalkeepers are never highly ranked on ay list, but Buffon had to be on this one because of the career he had and the keeper he was.

Ronaldo

Ronaldo is one of the greatest ever players to play the game and he could've been the greatest had it not been for injuries during his peak years.

He was an exceptional goal scorer and striker on his day as he was quick, skilful, agile, and could score any kind of goal. He was hands down the greatest goal scorer and maybe player of his generation and when you consider how good he was, it's almost unheard of to think that he's never won the Champions League.

The furthest he got in the competition was the semi finals in his first season Real Madrid in 2003 where he was one of the Galacticos alongside the likes of Zidane, Figo and Roberto Carlos. That team should've won more considering the talented players they had.

He did only score 16 goals in the Champions League most of which were for Real Madrid, but he's still had to be my no.1 because of the calibre of player he was.

MY TOP 10: