More often than not a footballer’s career is judged by the trophies that he has won during his career. While it is not the most accurate barometer to judge the success or even greatness of a footballer, we live in a world which is heavily reliant on numbers and as such we cannot ignore them.
So without much ado, we take a look at the 10 footballers who have won the most trophies in club football. 10 footballers who have won the most trophies in club football
[Note: Only trophies won in club football have been considered and not the ones that the footballer has won with their national teams.]
Honourable mentions:
Xavi Hernandez (FC Barcelona and Al Sadd) – 27
Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez is a legend in every sense of the word. The Spaniard is considered by many as the finest passer that the world has seen and was indeed a key cog in the all-conquering Barcelona team of Pep Guardiola and subsequently under Luis Enrique.
During his career, which spanned over 19 years, the 37-year-old has won 27 trophies, 25 of which came with his beloved club – Barcelona.
He left his boyhood club in 2015 to pursue a new challenge in the middle-east with Al-Sadd but hasn’t stopped and has guided the Qatari club to two trophies in his two-year spell.
Pele (Santos and New York Cosmos) – 27
Considered by many to be the greatest exponent of the beautiful game, Pele won numerous trophies with club and country. In fact, if a sum of his trophies with club and country are to be taken, he might just end up being the footballer with the most trophies. But that is a subject of debate for a later day and today we focus only on trophies won in club football.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento or Pele, plied his trade in Brazil for the better part of his career before spending two years in the United States in the twilight of his career.
The 3-time world cup winner won an incredible 25 trophies with his beloved club Santos, where he spent 18 seasons and capped off his career with another two trophies at New York Cosmos.
#10 Wael Gomaa (Al-Mehalla, Al-Ahly and Al-Siliya) – 29
Another name that not many people would have heard of and you will be forgiven if you didn’t know Wael Gomaa, for he plied his trade in Egypt and not one of Europe’s top leagues.
However, that did not stop the defender from racking up an incredible 29 trophies during his career, which spanned over two decades. The Egyptian played for three clubs during his career – Al-Mehalla, Al-Ahly and Al-Siliya, however, he did come close to joining English side Blackburn Rovers in 2006.
#9 Gerard Pique (Manchester United and FC Barcelona) – 29
FC Barcelona have been so dominant in the last two decades that it is impossible to look past them when it comes to trophies won.
Gerard Pique is the next La Masia product to have won an incredible number of trophies and he no doubt benefitted from having a supremely talented team around him. That is not to say that his contributions meant any less, they were equally important.
Pique did leave Barcelona for a brief spell of 4 years in his tender years when he was snapped up by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in 2004. Despite the Red Devils winning a couple of trophies in Pique’s initial three years at the club, it was not until his final season that he played an active part in these triumphs, hence he misses out on the medals between 2004 and 2007. He won 3 trophies in his final season at Old Trafford.
Ever since his return to Catalunya, Pique has added an incredible 25 trophies to his repertoire and has played a leading role in defence ever since the retirement of Carles Puyol.
#8 Andres Iniesta (FC Barcelona) – 29
A man for the occasion if there ever was one!
Andres Iniesta has put in man of the match performances in so many finals that it is hard to recollect or ever document. The Spaniard has scored the winning goal in the gravest of circumstances on the grandest of stages.
The fleet-footed Spaniard is arguably one of the best midfielders to have ever laced a boot and his incredible trophy haul of 29 is testament to the incredible career he has had.
He may not be a lethal goalscorer but when the occasion demanded Iniesta did not shy away from producing a moment of magic to either score the goal or create a gilt-edged chance.
He is, in fact, the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time whether you consider his exploits with just FC Barcelona or with both club and country.
Apart from his implausible trophy haul, he has won numerous individual awards and although he might be entering the twilight of his career, it is almost certain he will add a few more trophies to this list before hanging up his boots.
#7 Vitor Baia (FC Porto and FC Barcelona) – 30
Not many would have heard the name of the former Porto and Barcelona shot-stopper but having won 30 trophies during the span of a career – which lasted close to two decades – he makes the cut on this list.
The Portuguese international spent most of his career with Porto barring a two-year spell with Barcelona. Baia won 25 trophies with the Dragons while adding another 5 during his stint with the Catalan giants.
Surprisingly, Baia’s only UEFA Champions League triumph came with Porto and not Barcelona, as he was part of Jose Mourinho’s side that defied the odds to win the prestigious tournament in 2003-04.
#6 Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) – 30
The more you write about this man, the more you question your ability to write. What can you write about him that hasn’t been written, said, documented or even debated over?Arguably the greatest footballer to have graced the game, Lionel Messi, is a phenomenon par excellence. He is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – to put it in leman’s terms.
The 29-year-old has won more trophies than his age and before he calls an end to his legendary career it can be said – with some certainty – that he will surely add a handful more to this tally.
The diminutive Argentine has made the sensational look mundane, the spectacular look ordinary and so on.
Gone are the days when scoring 50-60 goals a season was considered a herculean task, gone are the days when dribbling past an entire team was done once in a season. Messi does it so often and with such relative ease that you are left to question – is football that simple? At least for him, it is.
The 5-time Ballon d’Or winner has won everything that there is to win in club football but the lack of an international honour still haunts him and he will be looking to set the record straight in Russia next summer.
[Note: Lionel Messi has one more trophy than Andres Iniesta due to the Argentine’s participation in the 2009 Supercopa de Espana, which the Spaniard missed.]
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United) – 31
Zlatan Ibrahimovic needs no introduction. One of the most charismatic footballers of all time and a deadly goalscorer on top of that, the Swede has conquered almost all of Europe.
During his stints with Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, the Swede won 33 titles in total. However, due to the Old Lady’s involvement in the Calciopoli scandal, the Turin outfit were stripped off their two Scudetti and hence Ibrahimovic’s final tally remains at 31.
Despite having a celebrated and illustrious career, the UEFA Champions League has so far eluded the Swedish hitman and if not for Manchester United’s recent triumph in the Europa League, Zlatan might have ended his career without a major European honour.
#4 Kenny Dalglish (Celtic and Liverpool) – 31
King Kenny as he was nicknamed by the Liverpool supporters racked up an impressive 31 trophies during his club football career with Celtic and Liverpool. The Scot arrived at Anfield for a British transfer record of £440,000 and repaid this money many times over as he helped his team win numerous accolades, first as a player and then as a manager.
In the 21 years that Dalglish spent in top-level football, he won an unprecedented 31 titles with his two clubs, 22 out of which were won with the Reds. Apart from his impressive trophy haul, the Liverpool legend also scored 336 goals in 823 appearances.
Dalglish also twice managed the Anfield outfit, first as a player-manager and then as the full-time manager. He then went on to guide Blackburn Rovers and Celtic to domestic glory as their manager.
#3 Dani Alves (Bahia, Sevilla, Barcelona and Juventus) – 34
Dani Alves remains the best right-back in the world even at 34-years of age. His heroics in Juventus’ win over AS Monaco in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League was a testament to the quality of the Brazilian.
To think that Barcelona allowed to let him leave on a free only last season will certainly go down as one of the worst piece of business carried by the Catalan club, especially given that they failed to replace him with a proper alternative – which contributed heavily in the woeful season that they had.
Alves would not mind it, for he has already won two titles since joining the Turin outfit and has the opportunity to end the season on a high, should his side beat Real Madrid in the final of the UEFA Champions League. He started life in France, the same way he brought to an end his Italian journey, with a Trophee des Champions win on his debut.
#2 Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) – 35
The Manchester United legend was the most decorated club footballer for a long while, having won an unprecedented 35 trophies during his long and illustrious first-team career.
The Welshman made an incredible 963 appearances for the Red Devils and lifted an unbelievable 13 league titles during this time – a feat not matched by any other footballer in the world.
Giggs has numerous records to his name, most of which will probably not even be surpassed and although it is true that he benefitted due to his longevity but he still played an integral role even towards the fag end of his career.
#1 Maxwell (Cruzeiro, Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain) – 37
Not Lionel Messi, not Alfredo di Stefano, not Paolo Maldini, so who is it?
The most decorated player in club football of all time is former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain left-back Maxwell. Not many would have expected the 36-year-old to lead the charts, given that the world has witnessed some truly magical footballers but despite all their talents and exploits none could match the trophy haul of the Brazilian.
The Brazilian has won an incredible 37 trophies during his 17-year-long top-flight career which started with Cruzeiro in 2000.
To put things into perspective, or rather to highlight the momentous feat of the Brazilian, Portuguese sensation and 4-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has won only 19 trophies so far in his career, 18 less than Maxwell.
While that does not mean – in any sense – that the Brazilian is a superior footballer to the Portuguese but rather, it highlights that Maxwell has been part of some of the most successful teams and has contributed effectively and thus finds himself leading this prestigious list.
