© Reuters
With the group stages finished and the knockout phase imminent, the top players will be ready to excel and show the world why they are the best. It's the drive and determination to win which separates the good from the great players and in order to win the Champions League, you must excel mentally and technically.
Most of the elite players in recent history have lifted the trophy and it could be worth utilizing a generous sign-up offer to back Real Madrid, the competition's most successful team as favorites to lift the title. Occasionally there are some world class players who don't manage to win the biggest cup competition in club football, and despite annual appearances, it always eludes them for one reason or another. In this article I'll list the five best players never to win a Champions League medal.
Gianluigi Buffon
Arguably the greatest goalkeeper of all time, it's difficult to believe that legendary stopper Gianluigi Buffon has not lifted the Champions League trophy.The Italian keeper has won a glut of trophies at both club and international level, including league titles in Italy and France, the UEFA Cup, and even the most elusive of national trophies, a World Cup. He's not just adding up the numbers in strong teams either - Buffon is standing out. With more individual awards than you could shake a stick at, including an unprecedented 12 awards for Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year, it's astonishing that the 44-year-old is still playing.
The only goalkeeper in history to be named World Footballer of the Year, Buffon left Juventus to join PSG in search of the Champions League win in 2018, but it wasn't to be. A three time runner up, Buffon even saved two penalties in the 2003 Champions League final only to see his team miss three penalties.
Heartbreakingly, Buffon freely admits that the missing trophy in his cabinet is providing the stimulus to keep on playing, and with one of the best players of all time as a teammate in Cristiano Ronaldo, 2021 probably was Buffon's final chance at winning Europe's greatest club tournament.
© Reuters
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
I know what you're thinking: Zlatan must have won the Champions League, right? But surprisingly no, despite being widely considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, the Swedish superstar hasn't managed it.The 40 year old Milan striker is one of the most decorated players in the history of the game with an incredible 31 career trophies to his name. With over 550 career goals, Zlatan is the top scorer for PSG and also for Sweden. The 6'5'' powerhouse is the only footballer ever to play in the UEFA Champions League with seven different teams: Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, Barcelona, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.
In a cruel twist of fate, of the seven teams Zlatan has scored for in the competition, six of them have won the Champions League but the Swedish record breaker was not part of their squad in the years when they did win.
With Milan out of this year's competition, time may have run out for Zlatan to gain the final trophy missing from his collection.
Ronaldo
No, not that Ronaldo, the original Ronaldo!In the era before Messi and Cristiano dominated the sport, Brazilian Ronaldo was considered one of the greatest to ever grace the pitch. With blistering pace and trickery in his early days, O Fenomeno remained triumphant throughout his career to the envy of the footballing world.
Ronaldo delighted fans across the globe with his performances for PSV, Internazionale, Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League, as well as scintillating displays for Brazil. Once the most expensive player in the world, Ronaldo narrowly missed out on Champions League wins twice.
Real Madrid won the title in 2002, only for Ronaldo to join Los Blancos the following season in an attempt to retain their title. Despite five seasons in Madrid, they never managed to reclaim the trophy. In his 2007 move from Real Madrid to Milan, Milan won the competition but Ronaldo was cup-tied as he'd already represented The Galacticos in the same season.
Hernan Crespo
Much like Ronaldo, Hernan Crespo was a prolific striker who was once the world's most expensive player. Now a manager in his homeland of Argentina, Crespo is passing on his experience of being tenacious and composed in front of goal, two traits which saw him dominate Serie A for Parma, Internazionale, Lazio, Milan and Genoa.Crespo won domestic trophies in Argentina, Italy and England and even managed to lift the UEFA Cup with Parma in 1999. Crespo likely feels hard done by that he hasn't managed to win the Champions League, as he must have thought his first half brace was enough to see his Milan side win the 2005 competition. Milan led 3-0 at half time against Liverpool in Istanbul, but the greatest comeback in Champions League history saw Liverpool score three second half goals and defeat Milan on penalties, much to the dismay of Crespo.
Having never received a red card throughout his illustrious career, Crespo is seen as one of the nice guys in football and this may be one reason why he never managed to grind out a trophy at the biggest stage.
© Reuters
Cesc Fabregas
One of the Premier League's greatest imports, Cesc Fabregas exploded onto the scene as a 16 year old with Arsenal. Filling the void left by the departing Patrick Vieira, Fabregas added a dynamism and technical excellence previously missing at the Gunners.In 2006, Fabregas got as close to the Champions League trophy as possible when he guided the London club to the final, only to lose to his former (and future) club, FC Barcelona. Having won league and cup titles with Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, Fabregas is now plying his trade with AS Monaco.
Soon to turn 35, it doesn't seem likely that the 2010 World Cup winner will ever get his hands on the trophy he desperately wants, but Monaco surprised everybody with their performance in the competition when they became runners up in 2004, so Fabregas will be hoping boss Nico Kovac can perform miracles and go one place better next season.
