# The 12 Greatest Footballers to Never Win the Champions League

> The trophy that got away from some of the game's biggest names — World Cup winners, Ballon d'Or holders and record scorers who lit up every stage except the European final. Who tops the list of the unlucky greats? Cast your vote!

*By YPB Team · Published July 26, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-12-greatest-footballers-to-never-win-the-champions-league*

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## Current results (4 votes)

1. **Diego Maradona** — 75% (3 votes · score 1000/1000)
   Argentine icon who won the 1986 World Cup and league titles with Napoli but never the European Cup.
2. **Ronaldo Nazário** — 25% (1 votes · score 772/1000)
   Brazil's 'O Fenômeno', a two-time World Cup winner and Ballon d'Or great who never won Europe's top club prize.
3. **Michael Owen** — 0% (0 votes · score 463/1000)
   A Ballon d'Or winner at 21 whose spells at Liverpool, Real Madrid and United never yielded the Champions League.
4. **Zlatan Ibrahimović** — 0% (0 votes · score 392/1000)
   Prolific striker who won league titles in four countries yet famously never captured the Champions League.
5. **Sergio Agüero** — 0% (0 votes · score 392/1000)
   Manchester City's record scorer who left the year before the club's first Champions League triumph.
6. **Pavel Nedvěd** — 0% (0 votes · score 392/1000)
   Czech Ballon d'Or winner who was suspended for Juventus's 2003 final and never won the competition.
7. **Harry Kane** — 0% (0 votes · score 392/1000)
   England's all-time top scorer, long chasing a first Champions League crown across Tottenham and Bayern.
8. **Kylian Mbappé** — 0% (0 votes · score 392/1000)
   France forward with two World Cup Golden Boots who, across years at PSG and Real Madrid, has never lifted the Champions League.
9. **Gianluigi Buffon** — 0% (0 votes · score 309/1000)
   Legendary Italian goalkeeper and World Cup winner who lost three Champions League finals with Juventus.
10. **Roberto Baggio** — 0% (0 votes · score 211/1000)
   Italy's 'Divine Ponytail', a Ballon d'Or winner who never lifted the European Cup.
11. **Antonio Di Natale** — 0% (0 votes · score 211/1000)
   Udinese's devoted goal machine, a cult Serie A great who never played in a Champions League final.
12. **Francesco Totti** — 0% (0 votes · score 93/1000)
   Roma's one-club talisman and 2006 World Cup winner who never reached the summit of European club football.

Tags: football, players, champions league