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#3 Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack was another world-class midfielder who didn't win the Champions League. In fact, the German was one of the most unlucky players in the game's history.
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In 2002, he lost the DFB Pokal final, FIFA World Cup final and Champions League final. To make matters worse, his Bayer Leverkusen side were overtaken by Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on the last day.
Ballack left Bayern Munich, who he joined in 2002, to join Chelsea in 2006. Although he found success domestically with the Blues, his woes in Europe continued. The Little Kaiser lost the Champions League final and the Euro final in 2008. Overall, he lost six finals in a relatively successful career.
The former Bayer Leverkusen talisman came close to capturing the UCL winners medal on a couple of occasions, but luck wasn't on his side. With that being said, Ballack still had a highly successful career, winning 13 titles at club level. This included a Premier League title, three FA Cups, three Bundesliga titles and three DFB-Pokals.
#2 Lothar Matthaus
While Ballack was an excellent midfielder for Germany, Lothar Matthaus was simply the best. The former Bayern Munich stalwart won numerous accolades and is one of the best midfielders of all time. His longevity is especially noteworthy as he featured in five different FIFA World Cups for Germany.
Matthaus won seven Bundesliga titles and three DFB-Pokals with Bayern Munich as well as a World Cup and European Championship with Germany. However, despite boasting a stacked trophy cabinet with 20 major trophies, the German maestro never won the Champions League.
Matthaus finished as runner-up in the 1986-87 European Cup final and the 1998-99 Champions League final, both times with Bayern Munich.
But the 1990 Ballon d'Or winner was a once-in-a-generation footballer. Although he didn't win the premier European club competition, his achievements in the game are there for all to see.
#1 Diego Maradona
The late Diego Maradona, along with Pele, was the best player of the 20th century. The Argentine is still highly regarded as one of the greatest individuals to ever kick the ball. El Pibe de Oro was primarily deployed as an attacking midfielder, although he could easily play as a second striker.
Apart from his exploits for Argentina in international football, Maradona was a sublime player at club level. Napoli and Barcelona were two of the clubs where the Argentinean legend shined.
It is also worth noting that, unlike the players on this list, Maradona barely played in the Champions League.
The 5’5” forward just took part twice in the UCL, which was known as the European Cup back then. Napoli were nowhere near good enough to challenge for Europe’s elite honor though Maradona did help them secure the UEFA Cup.
He ended his career with cup successes in Spain and Italy, a Serie A title and a FIFA World Cup win with Argentina.
