One of the marvels of the Champions League is that it is a recurring event and it is shocking to know some big players have never won the title.
The European club championship is now awarded every 12 months instead of the four-year gap between each World Cup, creating a seemingly endless waiting period.
Despite this, winning the tournament is not straightforward due to its recurring nature. Some enormous clubs, including Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain, have never won the renowned trophy.
Since the beginning of the century, all three have advanced to the finals; however, none have reached the decisive moment.
Even though Paris Saint-Germain spent millions acquiring former Barcelona champions Neymar and Lionel Messi, it was not enough to bring home their first Champions League championship.
In light of this, Kylian Mbappe has yet to be awarded this illustrious accolade.
However, the 25-year-old need not be ashamed. Indeed, he is not the only football player of international caliber to have failed to reach this specific objective.
Certain legends, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Brazilian Ronaldo, could not advance to the tournament’s final stages. Additionally, numerous others fit that description.
Mbappe and his contemporaries still possess the opportunity to secure victory in the tournament before retirement.
Mysportsdab has, therefore, compiled a ranking of the ten most talented active footballers who have yet to win the Champions League.
Table of Contents
Son Heung-min
Son Heung-min was a member of the 2019 Champions League final-bound Tottenham Hotspur squad that Liverpool ultimately defeated.
Regardless of how remarkable they are, the primary issue with being a member of a modern Spurs team is that significant accolades do not appear to be included.
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In fact, since 2008, Tottenham have not only failed to win the competition but have never done so in their entire history.
Unfortunately, Son must still wait to hoist the first significant trophy of his senior year. The fact that he has won a Puskas Award at least validates his status as an international footballer.
Harry Kane
Harry Kane, like Son, helped Tottenham to the 2018–19 final before losing to Liverpool, who won it all thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi.
Near-identical circumstances exist; despite being the all-time leading scorer for Spurs and his nation, the Englishman still lacks a significant trophy.
Despite becoming a perennial champion Bayern Munich member in 2023, he has yet to overcome that misfortune.
He seems to have no immediate plans to break his duck until the Bundesliga team reaches the Champions League final this season, which would be quite an accomplishment.
Declan Rice
Although Declan Rice made his Champions League debut after his summer 2023 transfer to Arsenal, his participation in that competition does not detract from his considerable experience in European football.
He led West Ham to triumph as their Europa Conference League champion the season before his transfer.
Given his lineage, it is unsurprising that Rice has performed so effortlessly in his debut season for the Gunners, establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s top midfielders.
Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka must also be present to include Rice on this list. Remarkably, this is the English winger’s inaugural season in the Champions League, given how long and to what degree he has performed at an elite level for his club and nation.
Consequently, it is evident that the 22-year-old has not yet triumphed, but he has been performing with the resolve of someone intent on doing so quickly.
Saka, who has contributed to seven goals in his first seven appearances (excluding the penalty he scored in the round of 16 with Porto), appears to have been designed to cause havoc at this level.
Lautaro Martinez
Inter Milan was eliminated from the Champions League this year due to a crucial failed penalty by Lautaro Martinez, who ballooned his spot-kick against Atletico Madrid.
He advanced to the previous year’s championship match, but Manchester City eliminated him at the last hurdle.
Given these circumstances, the Argentine may regret those instances in his career during which crucial opportunities eluded him.
Nevertheless, he has already qualified for the World Cup and, with 26 goals scored this season, is without a doubt one of the greatest players in the world at the moment.
Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann, similar to Martinez, possesses distressing recollections of this tournament. The most glaring instance occurred during Atletico Madrid’s 2015/16 championship loss to Real Madrid, when he missed the crossbar with a penalty kick in extra time with the club trailing by a goal.
Griezmann has lamentably failed to win La Liga and has finished third in the Ballon d’Or standings twice during his club tenure.
Notwithstanding his narrow omissions from several crucial championships, the World Cup champion has remained one of the sport’s elite footballers for the last decade.
Victor Osimhen
Napoli was the best team in Italy in 2022/23, winning their first Serie A championship in 33 years with relative ease.
That was primarily due to the 31 goals scored by Victor Osimhen across all competitions.
That would be painful for Osimhen and the company, as it was conceivably the last chance the Naples club would have to contend earnestly for some time.
Notwithstanding the Nigerian’s thirteen goals scored thus far this season, Gli Azzurri have been subpar and are presently eighth in the league.
With only 25 years of age remaining, the forward has ample time to achieve success in Europe; however, doing so might necessitate a transfer.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham, now the finest young player in the world, is a squad member leading the Champions League with 14 victories under their belt.
Given these circumstances, it appears that he will eventually obtain this trophy.
His performance in the competition is equally noteworthy, having contributed to 19 goals in his initial 29 appearances.
Although most of those appearances were with Borussia Dortmund, his deepest run with the Germans was to the quarterfinals. To advance one position this year, he must first defeat Manchester City.
Jamal Musiala
Jamal Musiala, who supported his colleagues in winning the competition in 2020 as a squad member, did not make his Champions League début until the subsequent season.
The German, regarded as one of the best youngsters in the world, will be looking to impress Arsenal again in April.
Having won four Bundesliga titles and the Club World Cup, the twenty-one-year-old already possesses an impressive collection of trophies; this distinction only increases his desire for this honor.
Kylian Mbappe
The World Cup champion is probably the most outstanding performer in history who has yet to secure the Champions League belt.
Like numerous individuals on this roster, he has also been a former finalist.
The Frenchman made his Paris Saint-Germain debut against Bayern Munich in 2020; fellow countryman Kinglsey Coman scored the Germans’ lone goal.
It seems inevitable that Mbappe will join Real Madrid shortly; if he does, his odds of relinquishing the Champions League trophy will significantly increase.
