The Champions League – or the European Cup, as it was until 1992 – is club football's ultimate prize, a trophy any player would be delighted to get their hands on just once.
Some players have done considerably better than that, though, and this lot all have at least four winner's medals in the competition to their name.
Click the arrow above to start the countdown...
You’re going to see a lot of Real Madrid players as you work your way through this countdown (they have won the thing 14 times, after all), so get used to it! And we begin with Lucas Vazquez.
The versatile right-sided player picked up his first Champions League winner’s medal in 2016 and ended up collecting three in a row as Real dominated the competition under Zinedine Zidane.
Real Madrid’s Champions League dominance of the mid-2010s was nothing compared to their winning streak back in the very early days of the European Cup.
Los Blancos lifted the trophy each of the first five times around, with midfielder Antonio Ruiz featuring (albeit sparingly) in the latter four of those triumphs.
Another member of the Real Madrid crop which won the Champions League three times on the spin between 2016 and 2018, Mateo Kovacic left the Bernabeu for Chelsea in 2019.
And it didn’t take the Croatian midfield all-rounder long to add to his haul of medals in club football’s ultimate competition: he helped the Blues to their second victory in the competition as they defeated Manchester City in 2021’s all-English final.
Midfielder Juan Santisteban got his hands on eight major trophies with Real Madrid, nicely broken down into four LaLiga titles and four European Cups – four in a row from 1957 to 1960, in fact.
Capped seven times by Spain, Santisteban later coached his country to European glory at various youth levels.
The most decorated French player in the history of the Champions League / European Cup, Raphael Varane tasted victory with Real Madrid in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
And the last of those years was a particularly special one for the ever-classy centre-back: a couple of months after winning the Champions League, he lifted the World Cup!
No English player can match Liverpool legend Phil Neal’s enviable collection of four European Cup winner’s medals.
The full-back made more than 650 appearances for the Reds in total, helping them to continental glory in 1977, 1978 and 1981 under the great Bob Paisley, and in 1984 under his successor, Joe Fagan.
Time to throw it back to the very early days of the European Cup again, and to focus on Enrique Mateos, who won it four times with Real Madrid in the space of seven years.
The striker found the net nine times in 16 appearances in the competition altogether, opening the scoring as Real defeated Reims 2-0 in the 1959 final.
Another quadruple continental champion with Real Madrid at the back end of the 50s, Joseito averaged better than a goal every other game in the European Cup, netting six times in 11 appearances overall.
Before lifting the biggest trophy of all, the outside right had won the title in each of the top three divisions of Spanish football.
Born in Uruguay, Jose Santamaria played international football for both his homeland and Spain – and he also played for one of the biggest clubs in each country: Nacional and Real Madrid.
One of the best centre-backs in the world during the early 50s, Santamaria won the European Cup in each of his first three seasons at Real – before adding another crown in 1966.
From an historic Real Madrid defensive icon to a modern one, Sergio Ramos is next on the list. The king of the dark arts got his hands on the Champions League four times during his 16-year stay at the Bernabeu.
The World Cup and two-time Euros-winning Spaniard won his first title in 2014, before becoming the first player ever to captain a team to three straight Champions League / European Cup crowns as Real held onto the trophy from 2016 to 2018.
Another key member of Spain’s 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 and 2012-winning teams, Andres Iniesta lifted the Champions League under three different managers at Barcelona.
The midfield maestro picked up his first medal in 2006, when Frank Rijkaard was in charge, then collected two as part of Pep Guardiola’s legendary side, and a fourth with Luis Enrique at the helm.
Metronomic midfield teammate of Andres Iniesta for club and country, Xavi shared in the same four Champions League glories at Barcelona.
He lifted the famous trophy as captain in 2015, making for a fitting end to his glittering 16-year spell with the club he first joined at the age of 11.
It’s fair to say Lionel Messi left his mark on the Champions League: the GOAT won it four times, all with Barcelona, and scored 129 goals in the competition (120 for Barca, nine for PSG).
Still just emerging when the Blaugrana were crowned 2005/05 European champions, Messi scored in the 2011 and 2015 finals – both against Manchester United – notably out-jumping Rio Ferdinand to head home in the former, then well and truly running the show in the latter.
This next group of players see the four Champions Leagues / European Cups the previous lot won and raise them a fifth. And we kick off with Real Madrid defensive stalwart Nacho.
Granted, he only played in the 2018 final – in which Real beat Liverpool – but he still ended the other four finals with a winner’s medal around his neck.
Yet another long-serving Real Madrid star, Isco made the 2016/17 Champions League Team of the Season as Los Blancos claimed their second of three consecutive crowns.
The versatile attacking midfielder won his first continental title as Real thrashed local rivals Atletico 4-1 in the 2014 final, the first between two teams from the same city.
Early in his career, Dani Carvajal left Real Madrid for Bayer Leverkusen in pursuit of regular first-team football – but he returned to his boyhood club after just one season in Germany, and the Champions League winner’s medals soon came rolling in.
A European champion under Carlo Ancelotti in both of the Italian’s spells in charge at the Bernabeu, the ever-reliable right-back was also a part of Zinedine Zidane’s ‘threepeat’ squad.
One of two Brazilians with five Champions League titles to their name, Casemiro played an integral part in Real Madrid’s European success of the 2010s and early 2020s.
The Brazilian midfield enforcer made it into the Champions League Squad of the Season for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 campaigns, and also won three straight Club World Cups with Real from 2016 to 2018.
A veteran of more than 650 appearances for AC Milan, Alessandro Costacurta was a continental champion twice in the European Cup era and three times following the inception of the Champions League.
Up there with the greatest defenders of all time, the iconic Italian also helped Milan to victory in the 1989 and 1990 Intercontinental Cups.
Part of Real Madrid’s squad for their first five European Cup triumphs – which they achieved in succession between 1956 and 1960, in a feat unlikely ever to be repeated – goalkeeper Juanito Alonso was number one for the first three.
The Spaniard – who earned two caps for his country – kept a clean sheet in the 1957 final as Real defeated Fiorentina 2-0, before wearing the captain’s armband in 1958’s 3-2 win over AC Milan.
One of the greatest left-backs of all time, Marcelo racked up a seriously impressive 25 trophies during his 15 years at Real Madrid – including five Champions Leagues.
Los Blancos’ first non-Spanish captain in more than a century, the afroed Brazilian wore the armband in his final season at the Bernabeu, 2021/22 – which ended, of course, in European glory.
A four-time LaLiga champion and five-time European champion, Rafael Lesmes was a rock at the back for Real Madrid throughout the 50s.
Capped twice by Spain, Lesmes also helped Los Blancos to victory in the Latin Cup – a competition featuring teams from Spain, France, Italy and Portugal – on two occasions.
Up there with the finest midfielders ever to play the game, Toni Kroos has played for two of the very biggest clubs in world football: Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
And the 2014 World Cup-winning German has picked up Champions League winner’s medals with both of them – including three in a row at Real.
Another member of Real Madrid’s all-conquering backline of the 50s, Marquitos won five European Cups and five LaLiga titles with Los Blancos.
A two-time Spain international, he also lifted the 1957 Latin Cup and 1960 Intercontinental Cup – helping Real get the better of South American champions Penarol in the latter.
Born in Argentina, striker Hector Rial went on to play international football for Spain – and it was there that he enjoyed the bulk of his club success, most notably starring in five straight European Cup successes for Real Madrid.
Rial bagged a brace in the very first final as Real came out on the right end of a 4-3 thriller against Reims, before scoring again as Los Blancos defeated AC Milan 3-2 two years later.
Skipper of Real Madrid’s 1959 and 1960 European Cup-winning teams, Jose Maria Zarraga was part of Los Blancos’ first five triumphs in the competition.
Renowned for his combative midfield play, Zarraga – who earned eight caps for Spain – made over 200 appearances for Real, where he was also a five-time LaLiga champion.
To date, the only player to win the Champions League / European Cup with three different clubs, legendary Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf got his hands on the iconic trophy with Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Nineteen when he starred in the young Ajax side who conquered Europe during the 1994/95 season, Seedorf had just turned 31 when he collected his fourth winner’s medal – and his second with Milan.
Among the most prolific scorers in the history of Real Madrid and the Champions League – which he also played in for Lyon – Karim Benzema racked up 90 goals in Europe’s premier club competition, at a rate of better than one every other game.
He enjoyed his best campaign in 2021/22, netting 15 times to become the first French top scorer of the Champions League era – firing Real to their 14th European crown, and his fifth.
Undoubtedly one of the greatest British players of all time, Gareth Bale is also among the most successful in Europe’s elite club competition.
The Welsh wing wizard won the Champions League in his first season at Real Madrid, 2013/14, then added four more – three as part of Zinedine Zidane’s trophy-hogging side, then another in 2021/22 under Carlo Ancelotti.
Oh, look, another iconic Real Madrid player. There’s no question that Luka Modric is one of the best midfielders ever to grace the pitch, and the elite Croatian playmaker has amassed a trophy haul to make most players green with envy.
A key member of the Real side which won the Champions League three times on the trot, Modric also tasted LaLiga, Copa del Rey, Super Cup and Club World Cup glory during the 2010s alone.
The greatest full-back in the history of the game, Paolo Maldini was known simply as ‘Il Capitano’ by fans of AC Milan – the club where he spent his entire, glittering career.
Maldini won back-to-back European Cups in 1989 and 1990 under the great Arrigo Sacchi, before tasting 1993/94 Champions League victory with Fabio Capello’s Rossoneri. He added two more crowns in the 00s under Carlo Ancelotti, by which time he was well-established as skipper.
Alfredo Di Stefano remains one of the very best footballers ever play the game – and no one in Europe could hold a candle to him as he played a leading role in Real Madrid’s early dominance of the European Cup.
The ‘Blond Arrow’ scored once in each of the first four finals – then hit a hat-trick as Real demolished Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in the fifth (teammate Ferenc Puskas somewhat outdid him on that occasion by getting the other four goals).
Cristiano Ronaldo’s haul of five Champions League winner’s medals matches his collection of Ballon d’Or awards. It’s not bad going, really!
The Portuguese superstar picked up all four of those medals with Real Madrid, starring in Zinedine Zidane’s ‘threepeat’ side, having previously lifted the trophy at Manchester United. Unsurprisingly, the man for the big occasions scored in the final for both clubs.
And then we have the first – and, at the time of writing, only – man to be crowned a champion of Europe on six occasions: Paco Gento.
The great outside left well and truly assured legendary status at Real Madrid as he starred in their first six European Cup triumphs: five in a row from 1956 to 1960, then another during the 1965/66 season.
