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The UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious trophy in club football. Unlike the top five domestic leagues, the Champions League is more competitive and unpredictable. The unique knockout format keeps viewers across the globe on the edge of their seats.
The FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly more coveted than the Champions League. However, not everyone can win that trophy as it happens once every four years, and it requires your nation to be strong overall. This is why many footballers aim to get their hands on club football’s biggest trophy.
Some prolific forwards never won the Champions League
The Champions League has featured almost all the greatest forwards the game has offered. While most of these forwards have managed to bag a winner’s medal, others have failed. Despite scoring hundreds of goals at club level, certain forwards haven’t won the continental crown.
Here are the five greatest forwards who didn’t win the Champions League.
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's greatness and longevity will be talked about for eons to come. The Swedish international started playing in the late 1990s and is still going strong at 40. He has achieved the unique feat of scoring goals in four different decades.
While most players on this list have played for one or two major European clubs, Ibrahimovic has represented as many as seven. He has participated in the Champions League with Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United.
Although six of these clubs have won multiple UCL titles, none happened when the Swede led the line. Despite that, he will go down as one of the greats of the game. Overall, the Milan veteran has scored 48 goals in the competition, more than anyone on the list.
#4 Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona is remarkably regarded as the most impactful player in the first decade of the Premier League. The Frenchman’s presence and attitude made a massive difference on and off the pitch for Manchester United. The footballer-turned-actor could play as a centre-forward, second striker, or attacking midfielder.
Manchester United hadn’t won a league title in 26 years when they signed Cantona from Leeds in 1992. The charismatic forward inspired the team and led from the front. They went on to win four Premier League titles in the next five seasons.
Despite all the domestic glory, Cantona could not crack the Champions League. In fact, his personal record in the continental trophy was also poor. The former Manchester United number 7 scored just five goals in 18 UCL appearances. In contrast, he recorded 64 goals in 143 Premier League games.
#3 Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio was one of the most flamboyant attacking players produced by Italy. The former Juventus forward scored over 100 goals for The Old Lady in all competitions. He was also quite prolific for Fiorentina and Brescia at the start and end of his career, respectively.
Baggio’s versatility enabled him to operate as a second striker, attacking midfielder or lone striker. “The Divine Ponytail” was one of the most feared attackers during his heyday. He also won the Ballon d’Or in 1993, but the Champions League trophy eluded him.
He was pretty unlucky not to get a winners medal under his belt. Juventus won the UCL the season after Baggio left the club (1995-96), and Milan’s dominance had ended when he arrived at the San Siro. Despite his failure to win the UCL, Baggio is fondly remembered for his world-class ability.
#2 Romario
Romario failed to win the Champions League, despite being a two-time top scorer in the competition. The Brazilian legend is seldom spoken in the same breath as the likes of Pele and Ronaldo. However, Romario’s contributions to the Brazilian team were more than noteworthy.
The former PSV star scored 55 goals in just 70 matches for Selecao. He not only ranks fourth on the list of all-time Brazilian goal scorers, but has a better goal-to-game ratio than Ronaldo, Neymar and Ronaldinho. For PSV, Romario struck 98 goals in 110 league games.
In 1994, Romario won the Ballon d’Or as Brazil were victorious at the FIFA World Cup. The Senator of Rio de Janeiro enjoyed a successful club career with both PSV and Barcelona. He won the UCL Golden Boot while playing for both these clubs. The only chink in his armour was the lack of a Champions League winners medal.
#1 Ronaldo Nazario
Like Romario, Ronaldo was a prolific Brazilian striker who won the FIFA World Cup. Another thing common between the two is that they didn’t win the Champions League. Considering he played for so many prestigious clubs, it is quite surprising that El Fenomeno couldn’t obtain a winners medal.
Ronaldo was undoubtedly the best forward during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Many predicted that he would go on to become the best player of all time. However, injuries cut short his prime years. Nevertheless, his goal record still draws envious looks from other forwards.
The two-time FIFA World Cup winner scored 62 goals in 98 Brazilian appearances. At club level, he represented the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. Although he netted 295 times in 453 club matches, he couldn’t add the Champions League to his trophy cabinet.
