The Uefa Champions League is the most prestigious Trophy any football player dreams to win. However, there are some of the best players to never win the Champions League.
Some of these players even played in the Champions League Final but never won it. Let us review a few of them.
1. Patrick Vieira
Viera is a former French international and one-time Arsenal’s captain. He is one of the best Defensive midfielders to grace the premier league.
But unfortunately, he never won the Champions League trophy.
The former Arsenal Captain was a prominent member of “the Invincibles” that went the entire Premier League Season without a single defeat.
Check out the Arsenal Invincible stats here.
Vieira had a distinguished career with the French National Team. He won the World Cup in 1998.
Also, he has in his cabinet three Premier League titles, three FA Cups four Italian league titles.
Despite all his achievements, Viera remains one of the best players to never win the Champions League.
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2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan is one of the most iconic Footballers in history. His career is typically unusual because he became even more prolific after the age of 30.
The forward played for the likes of Manchester United where he won the Europa League in the 2016/17 season.
Zlatan reached the semi-finals of the Champions League with Barcelona but that was the closest he got to winning the trophy.
Ibrahimovic’s prolificity is unquestionable, but the Swede never won the Champions League trophy.
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3. Cesc Fabregas
Fabregas is one of the best passers in the Game. The former Gunners captain won the FA Cup in 2005 with Arsenal but lost the 2006 Champions League Final to Barcelona.
The quest for Champions League success saw him move to Barcelona for a reported fee of €35 million.
Fabregas won the UEFA Supercup, Copa del Rey, the La Liga title, two Spanish Cups, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Still, he did not win the Champions League during his stay with the Catalan Giants.
In a nutshell, we can say Fabregas’ career is a successful one.
Despite his success, Fabregas is one of the great footballers that never won the Champions League.
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4. Michael Ballack
The Former Germany skipper was a great midfielder and known for his versatility in the middle of the pack.
However, his career was associated with near misses. Ballack lost the Champions League final on two occasions against Real Madrid (2002) and Manchester United (2008).
Ballack also lost the FIFA World Cup final to Brazil in 2002.
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5. Ronaldo De lima
Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalpoachers of all time. He became the youngest player to be crowned FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996.
The goal poacher won the FIFA World Cup, Copa America, and Confederations Cup with the Brazilian National Team.
Ronaldo’s Club career was hugely successful as he won Ballon d ‘Or winner three times and many other team accolades.
Unfortunately, Ronaldo is one of the best players to never win the champions League.
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6. Fabio Cannavaro
The former Italian centre-back established himself as one of the finest defenders during his playing days.
Cannavaro earned a move to Real Madrid in 2006 and he won La Liga titles in 2007 and 2008.
The Italian won the ultimate prize in football by lifting the FIFA World Cup in 2006 with his country Italy. Cannavaro went on to win the Ballon d’ or that same year.
The former Italian International did not win the Champions League in his distinguished career.
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7. Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon has enjoyed domestic success with Juventus and he won several League Titles. He is generally regarded as the Greatest goalkeeper of all time.
The Italian lost the Champions League finals against Barcelona (2015) and Real Madrid (2017).
Buffon was privileged enough to win the World Cup with Italy but never won the Champions League in his career.
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Conclusion
This article highlights some notable best players to never win the Champions League despite their individual brilliance.
There are many great players but these are just a few.
You may also consider reading about the Champions League Managers who also won it as Players.
Which of the listed players deserves the Champions League Trophy the most?
Further Reading: