Top 10 Most Decorated Champions League Players Who Played Every Final
- Think Football Ideas
- 14 minutes ago
- 5 min read
As we know it, the Champions League has become more than just a tournament. It’s a myth-making machine — a vault of legends, locked tight, with only the best handed the keys. And not just any winner makes this list.
No, this is for the elite of the elite. Not players who warmed the bench and waved from the touchline, but those who played in every final of every Champions League win they count. Boots on grass. Sweat in the shirt. Spotlight shining bright. Let’s be clear: medals are great. But finals? They’re sacred.
So here it is — the definitive countdown of the 10 most decorated UCL players, ranked by trophies and minutes on the grandest nights in club football. These players didn’t just lift the cup, they helped turn moments into eras.
Below Are the Champions League Players With the Most Titles (And Played in Every Final They Won)
10. Marcelo – 4 Titles
Real Madrid | Finals: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
There’s a reason defenders feared Real Madrid’s left flank, and his name was Marcelo. Hair flying, samba in his boots, and always with an eye for the killer ball, the Brazilian redefined the modern full-back role and is one of the best Real Madrid left-backs of all-time.
He was joy personified. But behind the flair was a relentless winner. Four Champions League finals. Four wins. And although he didn’t feature in Madrid’s last two, those early nights, especially 2014’s comeback vs. rivals Atletico Madrid, were stamped with his fingerprints. Marcelo didn’t just play the UCL finals. He danced through them.
9. Isco – 4 Titles
Real Madrid | Finals: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Isco never quite became the Galáctico many expected, but in the Champions League, he carved a legacy anyway. Four finals. Four wins. One silky Spanish technician was weaving his way into the heart of Zinedine Zidane’s team.
He didn’t score. He didn’t assist. But he mattered as he was often the connector between the backline and the big names. A facilitator in finals few can say they graced even once. And while 2022 gave him a fifth medal, he watched that one from the bench. For this list, that doesn’t count. The four where he played? They absolutely do.
8. Andrés Iniesta – 4 Titles
Barcelona | Finals: 2006 (sub), 2009, 2011, 2015
Andrés Iniesta wasn’t built for stat sheets — he was built for storylines. A World Cup winner. A midfield romantic. And a four-time UCL champion who had a hand in one of the most iconic semi-final goals in history, that strike against Chelsea in 2009.
In the UCL finals he featured in, he was elegant under pressure. A sub in 2006, conductor by 2011, icon by 2015. And the only man on this list not draped in white. Barça’s lone representative. And maybe its Barcelona's greatest ever midfielder in history.
7. Casemiro – 4 Titles
Real Madrid | Finals: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022
Every great team needs a guardian. Casemiro was Real’s. While Modrić and Kroos ticked and dazzled, Casemiro destroyed. Interceptions. Crunching tackles. Those midfield duels no camera captures, but every opponent remembers. He missed the 2014 final (not even on the bench), but when he finally broke through?
He owned that space. Including a goal in the 2017 final vs. Juventus, the same night Madrid became the first team to defend their title in the modern era. Casemiro wasn’t just a passenger. He was the seatbelt, the airbag, and the engine.
6. Gareth Bale – 4 Titles
Real Madrid | Finals: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Some players have moments. Gareth Bale had finals. He scored to seal the 2014 win vs. Atlético. He torched Liverpool in 2018 with an acrobatic scissor-kick from the heavens.
Oh, and just for good measure? He made Karius’s nightmares go full HD. The most successful British player in Champions League history — and perhaps one of the most underrated. He didn’t just play in these UCL finals. He changed them.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo – 5 Titles
Manchester United (1), Real Madrid (4) | Finals: 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Ronaldo didn’t play Champions League finals — he haunted them. Five wins. Four at Madrid. One at Man United. Goals in three of them. And an aura that swallowed stadiums whole.
His header in 2008 against Chelsea. His penalty redemption arc in 2016. And in between? A scoring machine that turned knockout ties into personal highlight reels. The competition’s all-time top scorer. Five Ballon d’Ors. Five Champions Leagues. He is the brand.
4. Toni Kroos – 5 Titles
Bayern Munich (1), Real Madrid (4) | Finals: 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2024
He played like a pianist, passed like a surgeon, and retired like a king.
Toni Kroos wasn’t flashy. He was flawless. From Bayern’s 2013 triumph to Real’s 2024 masterclass against Dortmund, he controlled games with a whisper, not a shout.
His exit was poetic — beating former club Dortmund to lift No. 5. And that through ball to Vinicius Jr. in the 83rd minute? Oh wow. A man who never needed to shout to be heard. The rhythm behind the team.
3. Karim Benzema – 5 Titles
Real Madrid | Finals: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022
For years, he played the role of quiet sidekick. Then, in 2022, Benzema dropped the act and became the hero. That year’s run (PSG, Chelsea, Man City) was a campaign for the ages.
Late goals. Ice-cold finishes. And finally, lifting the trophy as Real’s talisman. No more shadow. No more doubt. Also: 90 Champions League goals. More than Raúl Gonzalez. More than Thierry Henry. Fourth all-time. He didn’t just step up. Benzema took over.
2. Luka Modrić – 6 Titles
📍 Real Madrid | Finals: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024
Once ridiculed. Now revered.
Luka Modrić wasn’t supposed to become this. When he arrived in Madrid, headlines screamed "flop." Then he spun his first pirouette in midfield and history shifted.
Six finals. Six wins. No losses. And a midfield legacy whispered in the same breath as Xavi, Pirlo, and Zidane. 2024 made him the second-oldest winner of all time.
1. Dani Carvajal – 6 Titles
Real Madrid | Finals: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024
No glitz. No hype. Just cold-blooded consistency.
Carvajal is football’s version of an unsung war hero, who doesn’t say much, but always shows up. He’s started in every Champions League final he’s won. Six out of six. No bench-warming. No gaps. Just dominance.
And in 2024? He scored the opener in the final against Dortmund. A right-back with a striker’s instinct and a captain’s heart. Quiet greatness ages well. And Dani’s still ageing like a bottle of Tempranillo from the Bernabéu’s cellar.
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