11 players who have won more trophies than Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid v Sevilla - La Liga
Ronaldo has won a record 5 Ballon d'Ors

Ronaldo's status as one of the greatest players of all time is not in doubt, as the 33-year-old has set and broken records at every football club he has been with throughout his career.

From Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United and the Portugal national team, the Madeira native raised the bar of performance so high in a manner never seen before and is rightly recognized as the greatest player of his generation alongside Lionel Messi.

He has won numerous personal accolades over the last decade, including a joint-record 5 Ballon d'Or trophies, as well as numerous Golden Boot awards.

After nine utterly dominant seasons at Real Madrid, where he helped the La Liga club achieve the most successful spell in recent history, he is onto the next chapter of his illustrious career with Juventus in Italy.

Due to his extraterrestrial talents, it, therefore, comes as no surprise that Ronaldo has a huge trophy collection, as his teams over the years have benefited from his immense abilities.

Ronaldo has won 26 team trophies across his spells with Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. However, there are plenty of other players who have won more trophies than the Portuguese superstar.

Here are 11 players who have won more trophies than Ronaldo:


#11 Zlatan Ibrahimovic- 31 trophies won; Ajax (4), Inter (5), Barcelona (5), AC Milan (2), PSG (12), Manchester United (3)

Ajax v Manchester United - UEFA Europa League Final
Ibrahimovic after the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final

The big Swede needs no introduction, as the 36-year-old has delivered some of the biggest self-praise one-liners in the history of football.

Also Read: The greatest Zlatan Ibrahimovic quotes

He also has the talent to match his huge ego, and a constant narrative throughout Zlatan's career alongside the goals has been he has trophies won.

Ibrahimovic has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, and therefore, there is no surprise about the talent he possesses, winning titles in five different countries, and would have been higher on the list, but for the trophies which were stripped off Juventus due to the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.

Also Read: Calciopoli 2006: The match-fixing scandal that got Juventus relegated

With the final chapter of his career being written in the USA, and knowing Ibrahimovic's nature, we can be sure that a few more trophies could be added on the North American continent.


#10 Xavi Hernandez; 31 trophies won- Barcelona (25), Al Saad (3), Spain (3)

Barcelona v Athletic Club - Copa del Rey Final
Xavi's greatness lies beyond goals and assists

Undoubtedly one of the greatest midfielders in history, Xavi held sway in the Barcelona and the Spain midfield for almost a decade alongside Andres Iniesta as they helped both teams attain the most glorious periods of their footballing history.

A product of the famed La Masia academy, Xavi joined the Barcelona youth set-up in 1991, and went on to spend the next 24 years with the club, progressing through the ranks, until his departure in 2015.

A master of the distribution game, he was the fulcrum through which Pep Guardiola's tiki-taka gameplan went and therefore, holds numerous passing records.

Xavi is a bonafide Blaugrana legend who got a fitting send-off, as the club won the second treble in their history, with the little magician lifting the 2015 Champions League trophy, before moving to Al Saad in Qatar.

He ended his stay at Barcelona with 25 trophies, in addition to three he won with the Spanish national team and three cup titles won in Qatar with Al Sadd. He was the most decorated Spanish player in history prior to Iniesta overtaking him in 2017.

#9 Gerard Pique 32 trophies won; Manchester United (3), Barcelona (27), Spain (2)

Juventus v FC Barcelona  - UEFA Champions League Final
Gerard Pique with the UCL trophy

The 31-year-old defender started his development in Barcelona's La Masia academy, alongside Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas, but a 2004 transfer to Manchester United temporarily parted him from his childhood club.

Three trophies including the 2008 Premier League and UEFA Champions League were won at Manchester United. However, after failing to nail down a regular spot at Old Trafford, he was reunited with his hometown team in 2008.

From then on, he has been an integral part of the Barcelona team which became one of the greatest club sides in history, winning numerous trophies, as well as winning the 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euro Championship with Spain.


#8 Oleksandr Shovkovskiy; 32 trophies won- Dynamo Kyiv

FC Dynamo Kyiv v Manchester City FC  - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg
The Ukranian goalkeeper spent 30 years with Dynamo Kyiv

Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in Ukrainian football history, Oleksandr Shovkovskiy was a mainstay in the Dynamo Kyiv team for over two decades, spending all but three months (spent on loan at CSK ZSU Kyiv) of his 30-year career at Dynamo.

He was first choice at the club all through his career and won numerous domestic cups and league titles in his native country.

He earned a reputation for being a great penalty saver, and is the only goalkeeper in history not to have conceded a goal in a World Cup penalty shoot-out, doing so in Ukraine's second-round victory over Switzerland at the 2006 World Cup (after he had saved from Marco Streller and Ricardo Cabanas, with Tranquillo Barnetta hitting the bar).

He earned a total of 92 caps for the Ukrainian national team, and announced his retirement in 2016 at the age of 41, having won a total of 32 major trophies with Dynamo Kyiv.

#7 Vitor Baia 33 trophies won; Porto(27), Barcelona (6)

Champions League Final - AS Monaco v FC Porto
Baia won the Champions League with Porto

Legendary Porto and Portugal goalkeeper Vitor Baia finds himself in 7th place on this list. The iconic shot-stopper was a permanent fixture in the Porto line-up for over two decades bar a brief two-year spell which he spent at Barcelona, winning 6 trophies at Camp Nou.

He was a regular in the Porto teams which dominated Portuguese football, winning multiple league and domestic cup titles.

He also tasted European success, triumphing in the UEFA Cup of 2003, before helping Porto defy all odds by going all the way to lift the UEFA Champions League in 2004 under the guidance of a certain Jose Mourinho.

He won a total of 33 trophies during a glittering career for Porto and Barcelona, and was also an international regular, winning 80 caps for Portugal.


#6 Lionel Messi; 33 trophies won-Barcelona

FC Barcelona v Boca Juniors - Joan Gamper Trophy
The greatest player alongside Ronaldo

Like Ronaldo, Messi needs no introduction, as he is one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, owing to the multitude of records he has set over the course of his career.

The 31-year-old alongside Ronaldo, have dominated the football landscape in a manner not seen before, and therefore, is one of the most decorated players in European football history.

The Argentine is considered one of the greatest players in history and has spent all of his professional career with Barcelona, with whom he has won 33 major trophies. However, for a man of his immense talents, an international title still eludes the mercurial maestro, and with time running out, it is one black spot staining his legacy of being considered the greatest player of all time.

#5 Kenny Dalglish- 34 Trophies won; Celtic 9, Liverpool 25

Liverpool League Champions 1983/84
Kenny Dalglish was a part of Liverpool's dominance in the 1970s

Nicknamed 'King Kenny' due to his overwhelming influence on Liverpool during his trophy-laden stay at Anfield.

Kenny Dalglish arrived at Anfield in 1977 after impressing in his native Scotland with Celtic. Under the guidance of legendary manager Bill Shankly and later Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan, he led Liverpool to its most successful period till date.

He won a total of 25 trophies during his 13-year stay at the Kop, including three European Cups (now UEFA Champions League), six First Division Championships (now Premier League) and four League Cups, in addition to the nine trophies he won at Celtic, bringing his total trophy count to 34. He also finished as runner-up in the 1983 Balon d'Or to Michel Platini.


#4 Ryan Giggs- 34 Trophies won-Manchester United

UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour - by UniCredit
Ryan Giggs is one of the most successful players in history

A thorough one-club man, Ryan Giggs spent the whole of his professional career with his beloved Manchester United.

The precociously talented winger was handed his debut by Sir Alex Ferguson in 1991, and was present throughout the club's most successful era, playing a crucial role from when it began in 1992 till when it ended in 2013 with Fergie's departure.

During this glorious period, Manchester United and Ryan Giggs won a plethora of trophies, including 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League Crowns, four FA Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, one FIFA World Club Cup and four League Cups among others.

He, unfortunately, didn't have any international success, failing to win or participate in a major tournament with his country Wales.

He retired from football in 2014 a year after Ferguson left and is the most decorated player in English football history. The Welshman has since gone into managerial duties and is currently the head coach of the Wales national team.

#3 Andres Iniesta- 35 trophies won; Barcelona(32), Spain(3)

Netherlands v Spain: 2010 FIFA World Cup Final
Iniesta achieved multiple success with Spain and Barcelona

One of the most talented midfielders of all time, Andres Iniesta was a mainstay in the golden period of Barcelona and the Spain national team, contributing immensely with his innate ability to dictate the tempo of a game from midfield.

His midfield combination with Xavi at the height of their powers for both Spain and Barcelona is considered one of the greatest of all time and was a crucial factor in the success enjoyed by both sides.

He spent 16 years in the Barcelona first team setup and won 33 titles, including nine La Liga crowns and four Champions League titles. He was also instrumental in ending Spain's 'perennial underachievers' tag and the 44-year wait for an international trophy with their EURO 2008 triumph.

The 2010 World Cup winning goal was also scored off the boot of Iniesta while he put in a man-of-the-match performance in Spain's 4-0 victory over Italy in the Euro 2012 final.

He ended his spell at Barcelona with a transfer to Vissel Kobe in Japan at the end of the just concluded season, and even though his personal accolades are not as much as his immense talents deserve due to the presence of Ronaldo and Messi, there is no denying that Iniesta is one of the greatest players of all time.


#2 Maxwell 36 trophies won; Cruzeiro(1), Ajax(5), Inter Milan(5), Barcelona(10), PSG(15)

International Champions Cup - Benfica vs Paris Saint-Germain
Maxwell is the second most decorated player in European history

A surprising inclusion given that he is not one of the most popular players, Maxwell was the most decorated player in European footballing history for a long time before being surpassed by compatriot Dani Alves at the end of last season.

Maxwell wasn't the most gifted of players but was an extremely dependable footballer who discharged his duties without any fuss.

He played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, and his spells there usually coincided with the golden periods of those clubs, including Inter Milan in the mid-noughties, Barcelona towards the end of the last decade and PSG at the beginning of this one under their new ownership.

He went on an incredible run of winning the league title, doing so in nine out of 10 seasons (bar 2012) in 3 different countries for three different clubs from 2007 until his retirement in 2016; Inter Milan (2007-2009), Barcelona (2009-2011) and PSG(2012-2016).

He also tasted league success in the Netherlands with Ajax and was a Champions League winner with Barcelona in 2011.

#1 Dani Alves 37 trophies won; Sevilla(5), Barcelona(23), Juventus(2), PSG(4), Brazil(3)

Juventus v FC Barcelona  - UEFA Champions League Final
Dani Alves is a multiple time Champions League winner

The standout right-back over the last 15 years, Dani Alves has treated football fans to some impressive displays with his explosive forays down the right wing, combing brilliant attacking runs and crosses with astute defending.

Alves has maintained a high level of consistency throughout his professional career, and at 35 years he is still the first choice right-back for both club and country.

He has won numerous titles in different countries, but his most successful spell was undoubtedly at Barcelona, as he was one of the first players signed by Pep Guardiola as he helped usher in the golden era between 2008 and 2015, winning 23 titles in that seven-year period including three Champions League crowns.

Trophies have also been won at Sevilla, in Italy with Juventus, with PSG in France and with the Selecao of Brazil.

Quick Links

Edited by Debjyoti Samanta