10 Players With Most Wins in Champions League History as Neuer Hits Century

In club football terms, playing in the Champions League is the pinnacle of a domestic career – but the truth is that a majority of professional players will never get the chance to perform at Europe’s top table. That said, there are a number of elite-level stars that have become accustomed to the competition.

Think about Cristiano Ronaldo, who has netted 140 Champions League strikes in 197 outings, and the likes of Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric – whose joint tally of six titles is the most of any player in history. All have relished the challenge of locking horns with the crème de la crème of footballers.

It’s not the be-all and end-all of being considered one of the beautiful game’s best, of course, but playing at the top – and winning said matches – is a clear indication of one’s on-pitch talent.

Paolo Di Canio, Matt Le Tissier and Ian Wright are just a small collection of high-profile names that never managed to secure even a minute of Champions League action, but who are the top ten players that have accrued the most wins in Champions League history? Let’s take a closer look.

10

David Alaba – 84 wins

A resolute defender at his best, David Alaba’s tally is helped by the fact that he’s plied his trade for two of the biggest clubs on the continent, Bayern Munich – between 2010 and 2021 – and Real Madrid, from 2021 to the present day. Injuries have taken its toll on the 109-cap Austria international, but he’s still chalked up 84 wins in the Champions League.

A four-time winner (equating to two apiece with either side) of the competition, too, 1992-born Alaba has played an eye-catching 120 times at Europe’s top table. Now at the age of 33, how long he has left at the top of the European game remains to be seen – but don’t let that cloud over what a brilliant, versatile footballer he is.

9

Luka Modric – 88 wins

Now on the books of AC Milan, who are not in the 2025/26 instalment of Europe’s most prestigious competition, Modric (as mentioned earlier) holds a special place in the Champions League’s history books for winning a grand total of six titles, all of which came during his 597-outing stint at Real Madrid.

The Croat’s time in Spain came to a lamentable end this summer, perhaps marking the end of his success at the top of the European echo chamber. That said, given Rossoneri have enjoyed plenty of success, there is every chance the central midfielder, who forged a formidable partnership with Toni Kroos (more on him later!) over the years, adds to his win tally of 88.

8

Xavi Hernandez – 91 wins

Although his partner in crime, Andres Iniesta, doesn’t make the cut, midfielder-turned-tactician Xavi Hernandez – the all-time Spanish top assist provider in Europe’s primary competition – enjoyed a 91-win career in the Champions League during his playing days. Not only that, but the engine room patroller won the title on four different occasions: 2005/06, 2008/09, 2010/11 and 2014/15.

Often dictating play in the middle of the park, Xavi was a crucial cog in Barcelona’s success under a litany of managers, including Pep Guardiola. In fact, he made his debut in 1998 and concluded his Champions League career by winning the final, 3-1, against Italian outfit Juventus in June 2015. What a career Xavi had, eh?

7

Karim Benzema – 94 wins

Someone who knows a thing or two about winning and scoring in the Champions League is the talismanic centre-forward in Karim Benzema, whose best stint of his career came in Spain for Los Blancos. Joining from Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2009, nobody could foresee the trophy-laden career that the Frenchman would go on to carve out for himself.

Benzema, 37, occupies a special place in football history after winning the Ballon d’Or during the Ronaldo-Messi duopoly; and his 94 wins from 152 appearances at the top of the European tree just prove how much of a serial winner he was. Widely regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time, he is also fourth in the competition’s all-time scoring charts with 90 strikes.

6

Lionel Messi – 95 wins

It wouldn’t be a true Champions League list without Lionel Messi, who is commonly viewed as one of the greatest players of all time, would it? The Argentine – who somewhat completed football when he won the World Cup in 2022 – played an eye-catching 163 times in the competition for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain before heading to Inter Miami to conclude his career.

Rosario-born, long gone are the days of being able to watch the 38-year-old tear up defences on a week-by-week basis; but watching enough highlight reels will send you on a trip down memory lane. Messi won Europe’s biggest competition on four occasions – in 2005/06, 2008/09, 2010/11 and 2014/15 – and a tally of 95 victories in 151 outings just highlights his status as one of the best to ever do it.

5

Toni Kroos – 95 wins

Born and raised in Greifswald, Germany, Toni Kroos – much like Alaba, who is tenth on this list – had the pleasure of playing for Bayern Munich and Bayern Munich before calling it quits and hanging up his boots in the summer of 2024. Compared to his former teammate, however, the effortless central midfielder enjoyed 11 more wins.

His tally of six Champions League crowns proves that he’s one of the best players in the history of the competition and his deft ability to see plenty of the ball, recycle it and create problems for the opposition is sorely missed by his former employers, Los Blancos. All in all, the 114-cap Germany international won 95 of his 151 appearances on Champions League soil – which is the same as Messi, he just managed it in less games.

4

Manuel Neuer – 100 wins

Bayern Munich’s recent 3-1 over Chelsea, which saw Harry Kane at the forefront with a brace of goals, was Manuel Neuer’s 100th win in the Champions League – a tally that sees him crack the top four. Given that Vincent Kompany and his entourage are set on using the veteran 39-year-old between the posts, his number of wins is poised to increase.

In truth, Neuer – widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in football mythology – is showing no signs of slowing down, with his imposing presence still striking plenty of fear into forward lines from all corners of Europe. At the time of writing, the Gelsenkirchen-born shot stopper has won the Champions League on two occasions – in 2012/13 against Borussia Dortmund and in 2020/21 against PSG.

3

Iker Casillas – 101 wins

From one goalkeeping legend to another, Neuer is just one victory away from matching the record of Iker Casillas, who operated between the sticks for Real Madrid across a 16-year period. The Spaniard, revered for his cat-like reflexes, won three Champions League crowns during his stint with Los Blancos before leaving in 2015 and, during that period of success, he won 101 of his 177 games.

It should be noted that Casillas also played for FC Porto in the Champions League, which no doubt would’ve affected his win rate. While goalscoring is the main ingredient to winning football matches, keeping clean sheets is crucially important too – and Casillas, a 167-cap Spain international, had that down to a tee.

2

Thomas Muller – 110 wins

Like many others in this list – including Modric and Messi – Thomas Muller is currently enjoying the swansong of his career. The versatile German, 36, moved to Vancouver Whitecaps in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the summer of 2025 but, beforehand, it’s not unfair to say that he enjoyed one of the best careers in European circles.

From domestic success to becoming a two-time Champions League winner, he won 110 of his 160 games and, by virtue of his summer move, there’s very little chance that he’ll be adding to his tally in the future. A player etched into Bayern folklore is the one-time World Cup winner with Germany, Muller, who spent a large chunk of his career in Bavaria, is a bona fide footballing icon.

1

Cristiano Ronaldo – 115 wins

You don’t get a gold medal for guessing that the aforementioned Ronaldo, who now plies his trade in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, stands tall at the top of the rankings with 115 wins under his belt. That’s unlikely to increase given that his playing days in Europe are behind the seasoned 40-year-old, who is chasing the record of 1,000 career goals.

The Portuguese talisman’s first capture of glory came in the 2007/08 season during his first stint at Manchester United – but his four other trophies came during his time in Spain. In 183 appearances, the perennial record-breaker won 115 of those. He’s nicknamed Mr. Champions League for a reason, right?