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If club football is akin to theatre, then the Champions League is the biggest platform on which you can perform. The bright lights of Europe's premier competition cause players to switch clubs all the time, in hopes of one day laying their hands on the coveted trophy. The finest players in the history of football have won this trophy, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Paul Scholes, Philipp Lahm, Ryan Bertrand(?) having won it.
If the greatest always win this competition, what about some of the greatest players that could never get a chance to dance with the trophy? They vied for it and fought hard for it, but could never get that elusive moment of jubilation and victory. Let's look at the 5 greatest footballers to never win the UEFA Champions League.
Honourable mentions: Francesco Totti, Patrick Vieira, George Weah and Robert Pires
#5 Fabio Cannavaro
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Teams represented in UCL: Internazionale, Juventus, Real Madrid and Parma
He has won league titles, a Ballon d'Or and even the FIFA World Cup. He has been a Galactico also, but he has never been a champion of European club football. Even though he represented minnows Parma in one season, he has had stints with the greatest European teams at the peak of their powers.
His greatest run in the competition came with the blue side of Milan when he reached the semi-finals in 2003 to be dumped out of the competition unceremoniously against the red side of Milan.
An away goals loss at the San Siro (ironic) meant that Cannavaro would never be closer to winning the trophy than he was that year. Even though he went on to play for the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus after that, he still could never capture the elusive trophy.
#4 Ruud van Nistelrooy
Teams represented in UCL: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Real Madrid
One of the most prolific goalscorers in Champions League history, Van Nistelrooy's 56 goals in 73 games makes him the fourth highest goalscorer in the tournament's history, and the highest goalscorer to never win the trophy. He was the top scorer in the competition on multiple occasions as well, which further emphasises what a tremendous player he was, and what a regret it is that he never won the cup.
He represented three teams in the tournament, and probably had a great shot at the win with Real and United, but it never came to fruition. His deepest run, like Cannavaro before him, was to the semi-finals of the competition.
Funnily enough, just like Cannavaro, even Nistelrooy saw himself exit due to away goals. This run happened while he played for Manchester United, and they lost to Bayer Leverkusen in 2002, a year before Cannavaro's upset.
#3 Gianluigi Buffon
Teams represented in UCL: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Parma
The most heartbreaking entry into the list, the 11-time Serie A winner and the 2006 FIFA World Cup winner could never really crack the Champions League. Last season he broke the record for most appearances by a player without winning the Champions League, as he has gone on to the pitch 125 times, but has never returned with a winners medal. He played with Cannavaro in Parma's sole Champions League appearance and will soon play for PSG this season.
Buffon has lost the Champions League final three times, making it the worst record of any player in Champions League finals without winning the trophy. His first loss came in 2003 to Italian rivals AC Milan. Despite issues with the Calciopoli scandal and the destruction of their first team, he made it to the final again in 2015, losing to treble winners FC Barcelona.
His last final defeat came in 2017 when Real Madrid stopped them on the way to becoming the first team in the Champions League era to have defended the crown.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Teams represented in UCL: Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, A.C. Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United
The only man to have made appearances with 7 different teams in the competition, it is a surprise how Zlatan never won this trophy. Apart from PSG, all the teams that he has played for have lifted the trophy, with 5 of the 7 winning it while he was an active player. The only man to have scored with 6 different clubs (didn't score in Manchester), Zlatan held the record for most appearances without winning the competition until Buffon dethroned him.
Possibly the most decorated player on this list, Zlatan has records and achievements to his name that probably cannot be replicated. He played on the grandest stage as an outfield player for so many years showing consistency that no one on this list was able to, but only has a semi-final appearance to his name.
That came with Barcelona when his former team Inter Milan dumped them out in the 2009/10 season. Zlatan is probably the unluckiest footballer in the history of the tournament, having left Inter the season before they won the trophy, and then leaving Barcelona the season before they won it.
#1 Ronaldo
Teams represented in UCL: Internazionale, A.C. Milan and Real Madrid
Not necessarily an iconic figure in the Champions League, like Zlatan and Buffon before him, Ronaldo is easily the greatest to never win this tournament. A two-time Ballon d'Or, FIFA World Cup and LaLiga winner, Ronaldo made 40 odd appearances in the competition but has had nothing to show for it. An electric player, and possibly one of the greatest of all time, he ultimately led to his own downfall and could never reach the pinnacle of European football.
His greatest run came with Los Merengues in the 2003 edition, when they lost to Italian giants Juventus, which set up an all Italian final which Juventus would lose to AC Milan. Fun fact about Ronaldo is that he could have won the Champions League with Milan in 2007, but he had joined in the winter and was cup-tied for having represented Real Madrid earlier in the competition. What a shame.
NOTE: Barcelona didn't play in the Champions League for Ronaldo's sole season their, hence they aren't mentioned in teams represented.
