The 10 best active players who need a Champions League medal for their legacy | OneFootball

The pinnacle of European club football, success in the Champions League can have a huge sway on how players are perceived, especially when it comes to the Ballon d’Or.

You can still be a superstar and fail to win it. Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario never did, despite his CV including spells with Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan – all clubs who have won the Champions League at other points in their history.

But in an era where players are being increasingly judged on what they have or haven’t won, a Champions League medal remains a missing piece for some of the very best around…

Kylian Mbappe

No player has ever scored more Champions League goals without winning the competition than Mbappe.

He has 68 goals from 96 games in the UCL, a tally only bettered by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Raul.

In fact, Mbappe has only played in one UCL final so far, when his PSG side lost to Bayern Munich in 2020.

By that point, of course, Mbappe was already a World Cup winner with France. But the big prize in European club football still eludes him.

Lamine Yamal

Not only destined for greatness but already expressing it at the age of 18, Yamal has eight Champions League goals from 29 games to his name so far for Barcelona, to go with his 27 from 95 in La Liga.

At this rate, Yamal is projected to have an elite career and is expected to be one of the best players in the world over the next decade.

Along the way, Barcelona will surely have their eyes on winning the Champions League, which they haven’t managed to do since 2015.

There’s plenty of time ahead in Yamal’s career for him to taste that kind of success.

But if he wants to really build up a reputation that could make him a Messi or Ronaldo of the current era, it’s something he’ll have to achieve.

Harry Kane

When Kane finally left Tottenham in pursuit of trophies in 2023, joining Bayern Munich didn’t seem like much of a challenge given their overwhelming dominance in the Bundesliga.

Plenty argued he would have to win a Champions League there to really justify his move.

And yet the unthinkable happened as Kane remained trophyless by the end of his debut season with Bayern, who somehow finished third in the 2023-24 Bundesliga and only reached the Champions League semi-finals.

Normality was restored when Bayern won the league last season, earning Kane his first trophy at long last. But their UCL journey ended even earlier, at the quarter-final stage.

Now with more than 500 career goals to his name, Kane has been one of the best strikers of his generation.

But at the age of 32, time isn’t on his side if he wants to become a Champions League winner.

Pedri

Still only 23, Pedri has racked up more than 200 appearances in the Barcelona midfield since being snapped up from Las Palmas in 2020.

He has only ever scored one goal in the Champions League and that was back in his debut season with Barca

But it’s what he brings with his passing and dribbling abilities that enable him to make the team tick.

Pedri played in more than 1,100 minutes of Barcelona’s run to the Champions League semi-finals last season, but it’s the furthest they’ve got during his time at the club.

There’s no doubting his high standing among the midfielders of today, but when you’re at a club of Barcelona’s pedigree, the big honours like the Champions League are essential to earn a place among the all-time greats.

Bukayo Saka

After so many times as runners-up in recent years, Arsenal need a Premier League title sooner rather than later. But could they be good enough to win the Champions League too?

Such an achievement would be a major badge of honour for a player like Saka, who has earned a reputation as one of the Premier League’s best players but has only won the FA Cup and a couple of Community Shields so far.

After signing a long-term contract extension last month, Saka made no secret of his desire to “win everything” with Arsenal as he gears up for what should be the prime years of his career.

If he goes on to achieve that, including the Champions League, it would further enhance his star status on an international level.

Declan Rice

Like Saka, Rice has become a cornerstone for Arsenal, impressing in midfield since his 2023 move from West Ham on the back of winning the Europa Conference League.

Clearly too good for that level, Rice has taken the step up to Champions League football in his stride. He was named in the UCL’s Team of the Season for 2024-25 after Arsenal reached the semi-finals.

Now 27, Rice is in the prime of his career, but will be eager to get his hands on silverware again.

Lautaro Martinez

Martinez has played in two of the past three Champions League finals, losing with Inter Milan to Manchester City in 2023 and PSG in 2025.

His exploits even had him in with an outside shout for the Ballon d’Or in 2024 after also being named the Serie A MVP, but he came seventh in the voting.

Martinez has more than 170 goals to his name from eight seasons with Inter, but has often played as part of a strike partnership, which could raise the question of how good he really is at leading the line.

If he could spearhead an Inter side to Champions League glory, to add to his World Cup medal with Argentina from 2022, it would do wonders for his reputation.

But it won’t be happening for the 28-year-old this season, since Inter got knocked out in the play-offs by Bodo/Glimt.

Luis Diaz

Diaz has thrived since leaving Liverpool for Bayern Munich in the summer, reaching double figures of Bundesliga goals by the end of January.

The winger was a Champions League runner-up in his debut season with Liverpool, having joined midway through the 2021-22 campaign from Porto.

However, Liverpool never made it past the round of 16 over the rest of his time there.

Now enjoying one of his best individual seasons with Bayern, Diaz has been on a mission to show what standard he can really play at consistently.

Securing a Champions League medal made of gold rather than silver would be further proof of the levels he has taken his game to.

Now 29 years old, Diaz has three more years left on his contract with Bayern after this season, but time is ticking for him to become a European champion.

Raphinha

Raphinha was the joint-top scorer in the Champions League last season with 13 goals from 14 games for Barcelona and he finished fifth for the Ballon d’Or after the season of his life.

The Brazilian winger had never played in the Champions League before joining Barcelona from Leeds in 2022, only playing in the Europa League previously for Vitoria de Guimaraes, Sporting CP and Rennes.

Having become one of the most influential players for one of the best teams in the world, Raphinha won the award for LaLiga’s Player of the Season in 2024-25.

Among the only steps remaining that would mark a culmination of his journey at the age of 29 are to either win a World Cup with Brazil or the Champions League with Barcelona.

Bruno Fernandes

Like Martinez earlier, there’s no chance of Fernandes being a Champions League winner this season. In his case, Manchester United weren’t even in any European competition to start with.

But over his seven years with the club so far, the attacking midfielder has stood out as one of the best players in the Premier League.

He has a couple of domestic trophies to show for it, but not the league title itself. And as for the Champions League? Nothing better than the round of 16, once.

Fernandes has ambitions to get back to Champions League level and that could have an impact on his future as he approaches the final year of his contract.

Already 31 years old, Fernandes doesn’t have the kind of medal collection that would place him among the true greats, despite how good he’s been in recent years.

If he wants to win the Champions League, he’d probably have to change clubs at this stage, but it’s the kind of honour that separates him from the highest echelons as things stand.