Five players who have won the most Champions League titles in football history

Five players who have won the most Champions League titles in football history

The Champions League (and its predecessor, the European Cup) has been around since 1955 and no club has won the competition more than Real Madrid’s tally of 13. As a result, Real Madrid players also dominate the charts of football players with the most Champions League titles with their two golden generations i.e from 1955 to 1960 and 2013 and 2018, which share a combined nine of Europe’s premier competition between them.

So it’s little surprise Real Madrid players are all over this list of players with the most Champions League titles. AC Milan has won the tournament the next most with seven championships followed by Liverpool with six and Bayern Munich and Barcelona with five apiece.

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Only one player has been crowned the best in Europe Six times which is the most any player has won the competition.

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Below is the list of players with the most Champions League titles, including European Cup triumphs.

Francisco Gento (Real Madrid) — 6 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966)

Franciso Gento was part of the famous Real Madrid side that won the European competition five times in a row, a record which still stands to this day.

The most successful player in the history of European continental club football, Gento was the captain of Los Blancos in 1966 after playing for the club that won the first five European Cups.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid) — 5 (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Ronaldo became the first player to score in the final with two separate teams, having won the competition with both Manchester United (2008) and Real Madrid (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018).

Currently, on four goals in five appearances, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo who is the all-time leading goalscorer in the competition has scored more UCL final goals than any other player

Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta (AC Milan) — 5 (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007)

Paolo Maldini, considered by many the greatest defender of all time, the resolute Italian defender made 647 appearances with AC Milan from 1985 to 2009, including eight European Cup or Champions League finals. He won five, including as captain in 2003 and 2007.

Captaining the Rossoneri before Maldini, Costacurta made 662 appearances for Milan throughout his career. Costacurta was suspended for the 1994 final and was not in the match-day squad in 2007 but started in the other three finals.

Interestingly, Héctor Rial, Juan Alonso, Juan Santisteban, Marquitos, Rafael Lesmes, José María Zárraga, Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) — 5 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960) are other names who have won the Champions League five times each.

Rounding off the players who have the competition five times are seven Real Madrid players who helped Los Merengues win the first five European Cups. Juan Alonso was the team captain in 1958 while José María Zárraga captained Los Blancos in 1959 and 1960.

Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Lionel Messi (Barcelona) — 4 (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)

Barcelona’s golden generation won the UCL on four occasions from 2006 to 2015 in which only three players were involved in all the seasons. Iniesta was the only player to player to have played in the three finals and has a perfect 4-0 in finals in which he’s appeared.

Xavi was captain of the 2015 side but didn’t play during the knockout stages of the 2006 tournament. Messi didn’t play after the Round of 16 in 2006 but was the main man in Barca’s last three Champions League titles.

Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, AC Milan) — 4 (1995, 1998, 2003, 2007)

Clarence Seedorf is a Rossoneri legend, making 432 appearances and being part of the famous midfield trio of himself, Gattuso, and Pirlo. The Dutch midfielder is the only player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs, winning his last two with AC Milan.

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