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Football is a team sport, and winning trophies results from how well the players perform together. While that is true, there have been some players who have played for some great teams, earning multiple trophies in the process.
Players take part in just a handful of competitions with their national teams. So most trophies for football players are earned with their clubs.
Naturally, players who play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe end up winning a lot of trophies.
It is common knowledge that players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have amassed a lot of silverware in their careers. However, where exactly do they rank among ten players with the most trophies in the 21st century? Let's find out:
#10 Arjen Robben - 30 trophies
We kick off our list with one of the greatest wingers of all time, Arjen Robben. The Dutch speedster is best remembered for his great spell with Bayern Munich, but his journey to stardom started with PSV.
He is one of the few players to have won league titles in the Netherlands, England, Spain and Germany. Most of his trophies have come with Bayern Munich, including a continental treble in the 2012-13 season. He scored the winning goal against arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund at Wembley in the Champions League final.
Robben amassed 30 trophies in his 21-year-long career, though he failed to win anything with his national side.
#9 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 31 trophies
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the greatest players of his generation. He is still going strong at the age of 40 with AC Milan, but trophies have dried out for him in recent years.
Ibrahimovic's first title came during the 2001-02 season with Ajax, when the Amsterdam-based club won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup that campaign. After establishing himself as a prolific striker in the Netherlands, Ibrahimovic moved to Serie A with Juventus in 2004.
He won Serie A twice with the Old Lady, but both were revoked because of the calciopoli scandal. Ibrahimovic later won the Italian league title thrice with Inter Milan. His brief stays at AC Milan and Barcelona were also fairly successful, but he won 12 trophies when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012.
To date, he has racked up 31 trophies, with the last one being the UEFA Europa League in 2017 with Manchester United.
#8 Sergio Busquets - 32 trophies
Sergio Busquets is one of the few players in modern football who can claim to be a one-club man. The midfielder rose through the ranks after joining Barcelona's famed youth academy in 2005. He has won everything there is to win at club level, and was a key part of two continental trebles in 2008-09 and 2014-15.
He has won 30 trophies with Barcelona. Two of his trophies have come with Spain, with whom he won the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship in 2012. He was left out of Spain's squad for Euro 2008, which La Roja won.
Barcelona have dropped to the Europa League this season. If everything goes well, he might be able to add a new trophy to his cabinet by the time the 2021-22 season comes to an end.
#7 Cristiano Ronaldo - 34 trophies
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time, and has earned trophies at every club he has played for in his career. He silenced his critics when he won his first international trophy at EURO 2016 with Portugal. He spent the better part of the final game on the sidelines after getting injured early on.
His first taste of silverware was with his childhood club Sporting, with whom he won the Portuguese Super Cup in 2002 at the age of 17. His rise at Manchester United was accompanied by one of the best spells for the English club in recent history as he collected ten trophies at Old Trafford. That includes three Premier League and one Champions League title among others.
At Real Madrid, he won two La Liga and four Champions League titles, among others. Meanwhile, at Juventus, he notably won two Serie A and a Coppa Italia title.
Personal accolades have followed Ronaldo alongside achievements with club and country. He has five Ballon d'Or trophies to his name, and has also won the top scorer's award in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A
#6 Gerard Pique - 37 trophies
Gerard Pique is one of the most highly-decorated defenders of all time. He is just the third of six players on our list with a Barcelona connection.
The La Masia graduate made his professional debut for Manchester United in 2004. He also earned his first silverware with the Premier League giants.
Pique won the Champions League for the first time in 2007-08 alongside Ronaldo. It was after this successful season that he returned to his boyhood club.
He has been with the Blaugrana since then. Thanks to a fruitful spell there, Pique earned a lot of trophies with the club, taking his tally at club level to 34. He was also part of the Spain squad that won the Euros in 2012 and the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Before his accomplishments with Spain's senior team, he had won the U-19 championship with La Furia Roja.
#5 Maxwell - 37 trophies
Former Barcelona and PSG left-back Maxwell won 37 trophies with five clubs. He did not make a single appearance in his loan spell to Empoli, who are not among the aforementioned quintet.
Maxwell's first taste of silverware came with his boyhood club Cruzeiro in 2000 in the Copa do Brasil. He continued to earn accolades when he moved to Ajax, earning the league double in his first season at the club.
His short stint with Inter Milan also helped him win five trophies. He enjoyed a fruitful spell with Barcelona, winning his only UEFA Champions League title with the La Liga giants.
Maxwell secured a move to PSG in 2012. By the time he retired in 2017, he had won 15 trophies with the Parisians. With 37 trophies to his name, he remains one of the most-decorated defenders of all time.
#4 Lionel Messi - 38 trophies
Lionel Messi had a memorable 2021, as he finally lifted his first major title with the Argentina senior team. The PSG star was in great form in Copa America. He led his team to glory in the continental cup. He was also able to win the Copa del Rey in the summer in what turned out to be his final season with Barcelona.
Messi lifted a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or award this year. He is almost assured of a Ligue 1 title with PSG as they continue to dominate in the French top-flight.
He has 38 trophies to his name, with 35 coming for Barcelona and three for various levels for the Argentina national team. With the Blaugrana, Messi has won ten La Liga and four Champions League titles, among others.
Meanwhile, Messi has also won the U-20 World Cup in 2005 and the Olympic gold medal in 2008.
#3 Andres Iniesta - 39 trophies
Andres Iniesta is a Barcelona legend, having played a key role in bringing a lot of trophies to the club. The elegant midfielder was a key player for the Blaugrana. He also played at the same level for Spain, helping them win three major titles in four years.
Iniesta was the man of the match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final against Netherlands, where he scored the winner. He also won that award in the EURO 2012 final against Italy.
His first-ever trophy was the La Liga title with Barcelona in the 2004-05 campaign, with whom he won 31 more titles. That includes eight La Liga and four Champions League titles, among others. Iniesta has won two trophies with his current club Vissel Kobe.
Iniesta also won the Supercopa de Espana 2009, UEFA Super Cup 2009, EURO U-16 2001 and EURO U-19 2002 for club and country.
#2 Hossam Ashour - 39 trophies
Hossam Ashour is not a household name for an everyday football fan, but is a familiar name to fans following Egyptian football. The defensive midfielder spent 17 seasons at Al Ahly, making over 500 appearances across competitions, and he won all of his trophies with them.
He recently made a move to Al Ittihad, where he is yet to add to his silverware tally. He has won trophies in the Egyptian Premier League, Egyptian Cup, Egyptian Super Cup, CAF Champions League, CAF Confederation Cup and the African Super Cup competition for Al Ahly.
#1 Dani Alves - 44 trophies
Dani Alves holds the distinction of being the most decorated player in the 21st century. He is also the most decorated player of all time. He is also the only player with more than 40 trophies to his name.
The right-back impressed with his offensive abilities as a full-back, and is much better known for his crosses and assists than his defensive ability. He can also play in midfield, spending most of his time as a central midfielder in his two-year stint with Sao Paolo.
Alves has enjoyed a fruitful spell at every club. It's a shame that for a player that has won so many trophies, the FIFA World Cup is not in his collection. However, he is a two-time Copa America winner. He took part in the qualification campaign for the 2022 edition of the World Cup. It remains to be seen whether he'll be called up for the main event next year.
Alves' major titles include six La Liga titles, three Champions League titles, one Serie A title and two Ligue 1 titles, among others.
