Ranking 5 greatest forwards who never won the Champions League
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.
The first player in history to play for 7 different clubs in the #UCL...
Zlatan Ibrahimović 💪
#ThrowbackThursday #TBT https://t.co/2FhPOeJu9w
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.
Eric Cantona's Premier League stats:
156 appearances
108 mins per goal / assist
70 goals
56 assists
Legend. #MUFC https://t.co/AYm0425bJz
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.