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Ronaldo, Zlatan and the seven icons who never won the Champions League
Since the European Cup was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League in 1992, it has become the defining stage for greatness in club football.
The competition has crowned some of the sport’s most glittering names – Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka and countless others have all lifted its famous trophy. To win it is to etch your name into footballing immortality.
Yet, for all the legends who have conquered Europe, there remains a parallel hall of fame – one filled with icons who dazzled under the Champions League lights but never reached its summit.
Gianluigi Buffon
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There are few players who better embody both longevity and heartbreak in the Champions League than Gianluigi Buffon.
The Italian goalkeeping legend played in three finals – in 2003, 2015 and 2017 – and lost them all.
With Juventus, he endured penalty shootout despair against Milan at Old Trafford in 2003, watched Lionel Messi’s Barcelona tear through Juve in Berlin in 2015 and fell once more to Real Madrid’s Galacticos in Cardiff two years later.
For all his domestic dominance and 2006 World Cup triumph, the Champions League became Buffon’s great unfulfilled pursuit.
Pavel Nedved
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In 2003, Pavel Nedved reached the height of his powers.
The Czech midfielder’s lung-busting energy, thunderous shot with either foot and tactical brilliance inspired Juventus to the Champions League final.
But cruelly, he was suspended for the showpiece after picking up a yellow card in the semi-final against Real Madrid.
Without him, Juve drew 0-0 with Milan before losing on penalties. Nedved did at least receive the Ballon d’Or later that year, but the absence of European club glory remains a bittersweet footnote in an otherwise glittering career.
Eric Cantona
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The swaggering talisman of Manchester United’s 1990s revolution never graced the Champions League podium.
Cantona’s genius and defiance helped United reclaim domestic supremacy, yet his retirement in 1997 – at just 30 – came two years before Sir Alex Ferguson’s side completed their historic Treble in 1999.
His European outings were often curtailed by suspensions or early exits, but there’s no doubting Cantona’s transformative impact on English football.
For many United fans, his absence from the club’s greatest night remains one of football’s cruel twists of fate.
Dennis Bergkamp
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Dennis Bergkamp’s artistry helped redefine forward play in English football.
He won the UEFA Cup with both Inter Milan and Ajax, but the Champions League eluded him.
The closest he came was in the final season before his retirement, when Arsenal reached the 2006 final but lost to Barcelona – a match in which, aged 37 at the time, he didn’t feature.
Still, Bergkamp’s class, intelligence and imagination left an indelible mark on European football, even without the continent’s top prize.
Roberto Baggio
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The “Divine Ponytail” was the face of Italian football in the 1990s – a Ballon d’Or winner whose talent bordered on the spiritual.
He starred for Juventus, Milan and Inter during Serie A’s golden era, but the Champions League consistently evaded him.
Injuries, tactical clashes and the sheer competitiveness of Italian football meant Baggio never truly had his moment on the European stage.
He remains a symbol of artistry and imperfection, a player whose genius transcended silverware.
Zlatan Ibrahimović
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Few players have conquered Europe domestically like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. League titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France underline his status as a serial winner.
Yet the Champions League – the one trophy he openly obsessed over – always slipped away. His best chance came at Barcelona in 2010, but he departed before Pep Guardiola’s side lifted the trophy the following year. “I don’t need the Champions League to prove I’m the best,” Zlatan once said.
And while few would argue, it remains a rare blank space in his glittering résumé.
Ronaldo
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Before Cristiano, there was simply Ronaldo – the phenomenon.
A two-time Ballon d’Or winner and a World Cup hero, his combination of speed, power and technique redefined the striker’s art.
Yet despite playing for Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, the Brazilian never won the Champions League. Injuries robbed him of key seasons and his move to Madrid came just months after what turned out to be their last Champions League success for 12 years.
Ronaldo conquered the world, but never Europe – a reminder that even football’s gods don’t always get everything
How to watch the Champions League on DAZN
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