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Winning a league title is a difficult feat; a team has to maintain a high level of performance over the course of many consecutive weeks in order to remain at the top of the pile.
Some teams have managed to do this on a remarkably regular basis in recent years in Europe's top leagues. Sides like Bayern Munich and Juventus (nine straight league titles), Paris Saint-Germain (seven in nine seasons) and Manchester City (three in four seasons) have dominated in recent years.
Many of these successful sides have had a relatively unchanged squad over the years, which has provided the required stability. This has resulted in a good number of players having managed to win a lot of domestic league titles, more than their contemporaries.
Without further ado, here is a list of the ten most decorated players in terms of league titles won in Europe's top leagues.
#4 Lionel Messi, David Alaba, Thomas Muller, Pirri (10 titles)
The quartet of Lionel Messi, David Alaba, Thomas Muller and Pirri have all won ten league titles each in their careers in Europe's top leagues.
Lionel Messi, David Alaba, Pirri and Thomas Muller won all of their ten league titles playing for a single club in the same country for many years. Pirri won La Liga title ten times as a Real Madrid player between 1964-65 and 1979-80.
In the modern age, Messi won the La Liga with FC Barcelona in 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18 and 2018-19. Alaba and Muller won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2009-01, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-10 and 2020/21.
#3 Paul Scholes, Thiago Alcantara, Gianluigi Buffon (11 titles)
All three of Gianluigi Buffon, Paul Scholes and Thiago Alcantara have won 11 league titles apiece in their time playing in Europe's top leagues.
Of these three, only one - Paul Scholes managed to remain at the same club to win all of his trophies. The Englishman won the English Premier League with Manchester United in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 and also in 2011 and 2013.
Gianluigi Buffon won the Italian Serie A ten times with Juventus with his first coming in 2001-02 and the last in 2019-20. He also won the French Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain in 2018-19.
Thiago Alcantara has won leagues in Spain and Germany over the past few years. As a youngster, he won La Liga in 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2012-13. He also won the Bundesliga on seven occasions in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
#2 Paco Gento and Arjen Robben (12 titles)
Two men with links to Spanish giants, Paco Gento and Arjen Robben, have won the second-most domestic league titles in the history of Europe's top leagues.
Spain and Real Madrid legend Paco Gento passed away earlier this year at the age of 88. A wide midfield player, Gento won the Spanish La Liga title a record 12 times as a Real Madrid player. He won the Spanish league title in 1953-54, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1967-68 and 1968-69. Gento remains the only player to have won Spanish La Liga 12 times in the history of the competition.
Dutch great Arjen Robben turned out for a number of top European clubs in the Netherlands, England, Spain and Germany in his professional career. The winger won his first league title in 2002-03 as a PSV Eindhoven player in the Netherlands, before winning the English Premier League twice in 2004-05 and 2005-06 with Chelsea.
Robben won the Spanish La Liga as a Real Madrid player in 2007-08 before moving to Bayern Munich in Germany. He won the Bundesliga title eight times between 2009-10 and 2018-19.
#1 Ryan Giggs (13 titles)
Manchester United and Wales great Ryan Giggs won 13 league titles during his playing career. The Welshman spent his entire playing career in England with Manchester United until his retirement in 2014.
Giggs was a member of the famed Class of '92 that also includes David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. He made his first-team debut in 1992 while he was still part of the youth team and went on to become a symbol of longevity in the English game.
Giggs won the Premier League 13 times, more than any other footballer in Europe. He holds a number of Premier League records, including being the only player to appear in 22 consecutive seasons of the competition. He is also the only player to score in 21 consecutive seasons of Premier League football.
Giggs won the Premier League title in1992/93, 1993/94, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2010/11 and 2012/13. The Welshman is one of the most decorated players in the history of football.
