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The UEFA Champions League trophy is undoubtedly the Holy Grail of European football.
This season 2017-18 has seen one of the most dramatic build-ups to the finale held in Kiev. An insane quarter-finale saw German giants Bayern Munich crush Manchester United-defeater Sevilla 3-1 over two legs and Liverpool knocking out fellow English rivals Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid just happened to edge out a resilient Juventus 4-3 over two legs and AS Roma pulled the biggest coup as they knocked out FC Barcelona in a dramatic second leg 3-0 victory.
As the semi-finals concluded, Roma's dream-run to the finale was cut short by a high-flying Liverpool while a nervy Real Madrid once again made it to the finals.
Such is its importance that players have swapped clubs and even countries in the search for a chance to play in Europe's competition of the elite.
However, not everyone is lucky enough to place their hands on the gleaming silverware (and this includes some legendary players who have shattered records and left their mark on this beautiful sport).
Here is a list of ten great players who are legends in their own right but could not win the most famous trophy in Europe.
#10 Gianluigi Buffon
UCL Appearances: 125
Clean sheets: 50
Teams played for in UCL: Parma, Juventus.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Finals (Juventus).
A 10-time Serie A winner and a World Cup winner, if there is one regret that Gigi will have in his heart as he draws closer to retirement would be not winning the UEFA Champions League.
The legendary keeper has been this close to winning Europe's grandest competition thrice after Juventus reached the finals in 2003, 2015 and 2017.
In 2003, a fresh-faced Buffon was in goal against fellow Italians AC Milan. After drawing 0-0 after extra time, the match went into penalties which Juventus lost 2-3.
12 years later, a rejuvenated Juventus marched into the finals but were shown the exit door by a certain FC Barcelona.
In 2017, once again Juventus reached the finals. However once again, a Cristiano Ronaldo brace all but killed Buffon's dream for the third time.
Real Madrid and Ronaldo once again tormented the veteran keeper as Juventus crashed out of the quarter-final in 2018, thanks to a 97th minute dramatic Ronaldo penalty.
#9 Robert Pirès
UCL Appearances: 81
Goals scored: 14
Teams played for in UCL: Marseille, Arsenal, Villarreal.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Finals (Arsenal)
A vital player during Arsene Wenger's Invincible reign, Pirès had the world at his feet after winning the World Cup in 1998 and the Euros in 2000 with France.
However, as cruel luck could be, Pirès could never place his hands on the gleaming UEFA Champions League trophy.
While playing with Marseille, Pirès never managed to go beyond the group stages in the 1999-2000 season.
The next season, he joined Wenger's revolution at Arsenal and this was where he came closest to winning the elusive silverware.
In his six years as an Arsenal player, Pirès found himself in the finals of UEFA Champions League in 2006, a year before he left Arsenal for Marseille.
The Gunners had a brilliant run all the way to the final but came short against a resilient Barcelona side who won 2-1.
What made it worse for the Frenchman was that his dream of playing in a UCL final lasted barely 12 minutes, as he was substituted off in the 18th minute after Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann received a straight red.
His next outing in the European fare was in the 2008-09 season for Villareal when the team was knocked out by his former team Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
#8 Francesco Totti
UCL Appearances: 57
Goals scored: 17
Teams played for in UCL: AS Roma.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Quarter-Finals (AS Roma)
The legendary one-club man has played his entire senior career at AS Roma. Apart from this season (2017-18) when he has already retired, the closest Roma and Totti have been to the UCL trophy was in 2007 and 2008 when they exited at quarter-finals.
In 2007, Roma finished the first leg at home with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United. However, in the return leg at Old Trafford, a Ronaldo inspired United trashed them 7-1 to win 8-2 on aggregate.
The very next season, Manchester United once again knocked the Italians out of the competition with a 0-2 victory at Rome, followed by a 1-0 victory in Manchester.
#7 Michael Ballack
UCL Appearances: 93
Goals scored: 16
Teams played for in UCL: 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Chelsea.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Finals (Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea)
The industrious German midfielder has participated in the European extravaganza with four different teams.
The sad part is that he has just missed winning the elusive silverware on two different occasions with two different teams.
In 2002, Bayer Leverkusen made it all the way to the final but finished as runners-up to a Zinedine Zidane winner as Real Madrid won 1-2.
Six years later, Ballack once again found himself in the finals of European competition with Chelsea against fellow English rivals Machester United.
After a drab 1-1 draw, the match went into penalties.
#6 Fabio Cannavaro
UCL Appearances: 62
Goals scored: 2
Teams played for in UCL: Parma, Internazionale, Juventus, Real Madrid.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Semi-Finals (Internazionale).
One of the greatest players to have graced Italian football and more importantly, a Ballon d'Or winner, Cannavaro has even won the FIFA World Cup with Italy, but couldn't place his hands on the gleaming Champions League trophy.
The closest he has been to winning the silverware was in 2003 when his Inter side lost to derby rivals AC Milan.
After a drab 0-0 draw in the first leg, Inter drew 1-1 in the second leg and exited on away goals. (Though both teams call San Siro their home, AC Milan were the designated home side in the first leg and vice-versa).
In spite of playing for teams at their peak, the UEFA Champions League gold medal is still missing from his cabinet.
#5 Patrick Vieira
UCL Appearances: 76
Goals scored: 3
Teams played for in UCL: Arsenal, Juventus, Internazionale.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Quarter-Finals (Arsenal, Juventus).
The three-time Premier League winner with Arsenal and four-times Serie A winner with Juventus has played in the two of the best teams in England and Italy respectively at that time but failed to pick up the UCL winners' medal both the time.
Unfortunately, he has never managed to get past the quarter-finals, crashing out thrice - twice with Arsenal in 2001 and 2004 and once with Juventus in 2006.
As luck may be, the World Cup winner left Arsenal 12 months before they reached the UCL final in 2006 and departed in January 2010 before Inter won it in 2010.
#4 Ruud van Nistelrooy
UCL Appearances: 73
Goals scored: 56
Teams played for in UCL: PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Semi-Finals (Manchester United).
56 Champions League goals - Nistelrooy is probably the highest goal-scorer on this list to have not won the Champions League. To make it worse, he has been the top scorer in the tournament thrice (2001–02, 2002–03, and 2004–05).
Nistelrooy joined Manchester United two seasons after they won their historic treble in 1999. And unfortunately, he left it two seasons before they won their next.
Eerily, Madrid also won the continental cup two seasons after Nistelrooy left the Spanish capital for Hamburger SV.
In 2002, he came closest to the Champions League Final when Manchester United faced Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals of the tournament.
However, United exited after drawing both the matches (2-2 at Old Trafford and 1-1 in Germany).
#3 George Weah
UCL Appearances: 16
Goals scored: 11
Teams played for in UCL: PSG, AC Milan.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Semi-Finals (PSG).
The 25th President of Liberia has been a serial winner in his footballing days. Having played for big teams like Monaco, PSG, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City and Marseille, King George has won multiple trophies and accolades across the continent.
However, he never really got a chance to show him immense talent on the grand European stage.
The 1995 Ballon d'Or winner came closest to the UCL Finals in the 1994-95 season when his PSG side lost to AC Milan (3-0 to AC Milan on aggregate) in the semi-finals.
Impressed by his prolific skills, AC Milan signed the legendary striker in the next season. However, his time at the San Siro club was plain unlucky in Europe.
He arrived at a time when AC Milan was going through a brief hiatus in Europe, having won the continental trophy in 1989, 1990 and 1994, and then again in 2003 and 2007.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimović
UCL Appearances: 122
Goals scored: 48
Teams played for in UCL: Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United.
Highest stage reached in UCL: Semi-Finals (Barcelona).
With over 100+ appearances with seven different top teams across five different countries, Zlatan holds the unwanted record of most Champions League appearances without winning the trophy.
The self-proclaimed lion was inches-close to a Champions League winner medal with Barcelona in 2010. However, his ex-team Inter turned tormenters as Barcelona were booted out in the semi-finals.
He is probably the most famous of nearly-man having left Inter just before they won the UCL next season.
Ditto with his next team, Barcelona. Now plying his trade for LA Galaxy in MLS, the famous European trophy will not have Ibrahimovic inscribed on it.
#1 Ronaldo
UCL Appearances: 40
Goals scored: 14
Teams played for in UCL: Internazionale, Real Madrid, AC Milan (1 match- on the bench).
Highest stage reached in UCL: Semi-Finals (Real Madrid).
One of the most famous players on this list, Ronaldo has won it all - The World Cup (twice), La Liga (twice) and even Ballon d'Or (twice), yet the UEFA Champions League trophy is missing in his trophy cabinet.
While his namesake (that Portuguese Cristiano) has four winners' medal, the original Ronaldo has none.
Although Ronaldo was a part of AC Milan when they won the famous trophy in 2007, however, since he was cup-tied to Real Madrid (having joined Milan in the winter), he was ineligible to win the winners' medal.
The closest he has been to the winners' medal was in 2003 when he helped Real Madrid to semi-finals before they lost to Juventus.
