One observation – perhaps a criticism – of the modern UEFA Champions League is that it throws many of the usual suspects into the battle for glory year after year.
Real Madrid faced Dortmund in the 2024 final on June 1, as two of Europe’s biggest old clubs faced off in the biggest club competition of all. Dortmund’s advance to the final may have been a shock, but this was their third appearance in the title match.
For Real Madrid, Saturday’s victory in London marked their record-extending 15th European crown.
On the other hand, the familiar image of the usual suspects in the latter stages of the competition year after year means a steady diet of the best players playing in the biggest games. This, in turn, creates the conditions for multiple winners.
So which player has the most medals in the history of the Champions League and the European Cup, its predecessor? We unpacked things in the list below.
Which players have won the most Champions League titles?
Cristiano Ronaldo? Gareth Bale? Karim Benzema? No, not quite, although they rank high on the all-time list.
Unsurprisingly, the overall standings are dominated by Real Madrid, after their concentrated periods of success in the 1950s and 2010s. And their victory over Dortmund means that a handful of players from Madrid’s current generation of megastars have taken its place at the top of the all-time list.
The madridistas who lead the way are Dani Carvajal – whose goal in the final helped win the trophy in 2024 – and Paco Gento, the left back of the team that won each of the first five European Cups. Gento was then the only man left from that team of galacticbefore galactic They already existed when Madrid came back and beat Partizan in the 1966 final.
The eternal Luka modric He is also celebrating his sixth overall crown, after coming on as a last-minute substitute in the 2024 final.
Before the 2024 final, no one other than Gento had won this famous trophy six times, but Carvajal and Modric have now joined that exclusive list with six wins and six winning appearances in the final.
Behind them are two other players from the Madrid 2024 crop who have now achieved six overall wins, although neither of them have appeared in all the winning finals. This is where a key difference comes into play as to whether a person is simply a Champions League winner or played in a Champions League final.
Toni Kroos He can now retire from club football having played in all five of Madrid’s finals during his time in the Spanish capital, but was sidelined through injury when Bayern beat Borussia Dortmund at Wembley in 2013.
In addition, Nacho He joined Gento as a six-time winner with Madrid this season, although he only played in the 2018 final and the 2024 triumph.
Players with the most European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles
| Player | Club | General titles | Winning Finals Played |
| Paco Gento | real Madrid | 6 | 6 |
| Dani Carvajal | real Madrid | 6 | 6 |
| Luka modric | real Madrid | 6 | 6 |
| Toni Kroos | Bayern Munich, Real Madrid | 6 | 5 |
| Nacho | real Madrid | 6 | 2 |
| juan alonso | real Madrid | 5 | 5 |
| Alfredo Di Stefano | real Madrid | 5 | 5 |
| Rafael Lesmes | real Madrid | 5 | 5 |
| marquitos | real Madrid | 5 | 5 |
| Hector Rial | real Madrid | 5 | 5 |
| José María Zárraga | real Madrid | 5 | 5 |
| Karim Benzema | real Madrid | 5 | 5 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United, Real Madrid. | 5 | 5 |
| Paolo Maldini | AC Milan | 5 | 5 |
| casemiro | real Madrid | 5 | 4 |
| Gareth Bale | real Madrid | 5 | 4 |
| Isco | real Madrid | 5 | 4 |
| Marcelo | real Madrid | 5 | 4 |
| Alessandro Costacurta | AC Milan | 5 | 3 |
| Lucas Vazquez | real Madrid | 5 | 2 |
| Andres Iniesta | Barcelona | 4 | 4 |
| Sergio Ramos | real Madrid | 4 | 4 |
| Clarence Seedorf | Ajax, Real Madrid, Milan | 4 | 4 |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 4 | 3 |
| xavi | Barcelona | 4 | 3 |
| Gerard Piqué | Manchester United, Barcelona | 4 | 3 |
| Rafael Varane | real Madrid | 4 | 3 |
| Mateo Kovacic | Real Madrid, Chelsea | 4 | 1 |
It’s a similar story for Lionel Messi and Xavi, who were integral to each of Barcelona’s successes in 2009, 2011 and 2015, but did not play in the 2006 final against Arsenal, which the Catalans also won. Gerard Piqué also starred in those last three Barça victories, after winning his first medal as a member of the Manchester United team in 2008.
