There have been many world-class players in the UEFA Champions League. The list is perhaps endless when we see the players who have played in the history of the UEFA Champions League. However, despite the world-class players in the UEFA Champions League, the decorated trophy has eluded many players.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Ronaldo Nazario, Cesc Fabregas, Francesco Totti, Fabio Cannavaro, etc. are just some of the few world-class players to never win trophies. However, for our purpose, a player must have the UEFA Champions three times. Also, a player who has won it with more than one club will be higher on the list.
Other factors such as being top in the list of top goalscorers, top assister, and most clean sheets will be considered while ranking the top 10 players in the history of the UEFA Champions League. The list is subjective and there may be other players whose case could be argued for inclusion in this list as well.
#10 Karim Benzema
The Frenchman with 90 goals is fourth in the list of all-time goalscorers in the Champions League. He won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid. Benzema’s first Champions League was in 2014. Then he won the three-peat from 2016-2018.
Recently the Frenchman also won the Champions League in 2022. Benzema scored crucial goals in the historic three-peat of Los Blancos. In their last Champions League triumph, he scored back-to-back hatricks as well.
#9 Xavi
The Spaniard needs no introduction to the world of football. He won the Champions League four times in his career with Barcelona. Some could argue a case for Andres Iniesta as well. However, Xavi was more consistent compared to Iniesta, thus he gets the nod.
Xavi won his first Champions League in 2006 against Arsenal. Thereafter he was part of Pep Guardiola’s legendary Barcelona team. He won two Champions League under Pep Guardiola. Thereafter he won his last Champions League in the year 2015.
#8 Iker Casillas
It would have been unfair not to put any goalkeeper on this list. However, in the modern day, there are very few goalkeepers who have won the Champions League thrice except Casillas. Not only this the Spaniard has the most clean sheets (49) in the competition’s history.
Casillas won the Champions League in the years 2000, 2002, and 2014. He came through the youth ranks of Real Madrid. He had his breakthrough as a young player and established himself as the No.1 after his solid performances.
#7 Luka Modric
Modric is considered to be one of the best midfielders in Real Madrid’s history. He won the Champions League four times with Los Blancos. It was his corner in injury time through which Sergio Ramos equalised against Atletico Madrid in the 2014 final.
The Crot joined Los Blancos in the year 2013. Initially, he struggled and he was voted as the club’s worst signing. However, he turned it around by playing a crucial role in their three-peat from 2016-2018. In their last Champions League triumph as well he produced some stunning magical moments to bail out Los Blancos.
#6 Sergio Ramos
Ramos just gets a nod ahead of Modric because he scored two finals for the club. Although it was Crot who assisted the 2014 goal but Ramos was also on target in the 2016 final. The Spaniard won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid.
Just like Modric, Ramos also won the Champions League in 2014 and in the three-peat from 2016-2018. The Spaniards a crucial role throughout their Champions League victories. He often provided cover for Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo to roam forward freely. He was their talisman in their defence and he was a captain and leader as well.
#5 Pablo Maldini
The legendary Italian is arguably one of the greatest defenders of all time. He won the Champions League thrice and the European club twice. Many consider him to be the epitome of the defenders in football. Not only this his longevity is probably very underrated.
Maldini won the Champions League in 1994, 2003 and 2007. He was also part of the AC Milan side that lost the Champions League final in 2005 to Liverpool. However, his legacy is far bigger than the 2005 final.
#4 Toni Kroos
The German was part of Bayern Munich treble treble-winning team in 2013. Later on, he moved to Real Madrid and won four Champions League with them. Overall he has won four Champions League while maintaining a stunning pass accuracy of over 90% every season. Kroos is just ahead of the others because he won it with two different clubs.
Apart from winning the trophy in 2013, he won it in different years with Real Madrid. He won the said Champions League trophies with Los Blancos alongside his partner in crime Luka Modric. The first Champions League trophy came in 2016, then in 2017, and followed by another one in 2018. In 2022, as well he won the trophy with Real Madrid.
#3 Clarence Seedoorf
Seedoorf is perhaps the only player in Champions League history to win the competition with three different clubs. He won the Champions League with Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan. The Dutchman is perhaps one of the most underrated players in Champions League history.
The Dutchman won the Champions League five times during his career. Seedoorf won it in 1995 with Ajax, then twice in 1998 and 2000 with Real Madrid. These three Champions League victories were followed by two more Champions League trophies in 2003 and 2007 with AC Milan.
#2 Lionel Messi
No surprises here with Messi here on the list some could argue that he should be given the No.1 spot but that is a debate for another day. The Argentinian won the Champions League four times with beloved Barcelona. Messi’s first Champions League came in the year 2006.
This was followed by two Champions League trophies under Pep Guardiola in the years 2009 and 2011. Thereafter his last Champions League trophy came in the year 2015 with Barcelona. The Argentinian’s last Champions League appearance was with Paris Saint Germain in 2023 which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Mr. Champions Legaue gets the No.1 spot on this list. Ronaldo has the most number of goals and assists in the competition. He has given countless number of memorable moments in the Champions League with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. He won the Champions League once with the Red Devils and four times with Los Blancos.
Juventus also signed him to win the Champions League. They reached the quarter-finals but they failed to beat the Ajax. The next season, Ronaldo’s Juventus were stunned by Lyon in the Round of 16 and the next season by Porto. Ronaldo’s last Champions League appearance was for Manchester United in a 2-0 win against Villarreal.
Other notable mentions for UEFA Champions League best players
There are many players who might not fit in the above-mentioned criteria but they have been phenomenal over the years in the Champions League. On top of the head, the name of Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba, Frank Ribery, and Argentina Robben comes into mind.
The likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, Thiery Herny, Angel Di Maria, Raul, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes etc. are some other notable mentions. However, there are plenty of players whose names can be included in this list.
