EPL_Never Play in the Champions League
It’s, obviously, not to wince at the Champions League. It’s the biggest stage available in club football and every player – no matter what corner of the world they originate from – dreams of stepping out, at least once, to that famous, spine-tingling anthem.
Of course, it’s not the be-all and end-all of club football; but it is the zenith of all possibilities for those wanting to reach the upper echelons of what we call the beautiful game.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo Nazario and Eric Cantona are famed for not holding Europe’s most prestigious trophy above their heads, of course, but we’re here to highlight the best footballers to live that have never even played in the competition.
30 Greatest Players In Champions League History (Ranked) Related
30 Greatest Players In Champions League History (Ranked)
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema feature as the greatest Champions League players of all time are ranked in order.
As mentioned, let’s go one step further, shall we? There are some top, top players, believe it or not, that have never played Champions League football, which include Italian maverick Paolo Di Canio and ex-Arsenal and Crystal Palace talisman Ian Wright.
10 Leighton Baines
Notable clubs: Everton and Wigan Athletic
The reason behind Leighton Baines’ misfortune is, well, the fact that he dedicated much of his time on the turf to Everton – and before arriving on Merseyside shores in 2007, he earned his corn for Wigan Athletic. But despite the Toffees’ early-noughties flirtation with Europe’s top table, an appearance never materialised.
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Dynamic enough to be defensively resolute but also attack-minded enough to impact proceedings in the final third, Baines is regarded as one of the best left-backs in Premier League history. Although he carved a career of no regrets, perhaps the 30-cap England international should have followed David Moyes to Manchester United. That way, the Champions League dream would’ve been achieved.
9 David James
Notable clubs: Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City
Granted, David James may not be the best player on this list – but the majority of fans would assume that he’d have at least one Champions League appearance in his repertoire. He doesn't. And that’s despite being a prominent player for the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa throughout his time between the sticks.
You’d think that a goalkeeper, more often than not the first-choice for his collection of clubs like James was, would have a Champions League outing under their belt? Not in the now-54-year-old’s case as Liverpool’s arch-rivals, Manchester United, were often England’s dominant force in the 1990s. Invariably, James and his teammates had to settle for the UEFA Cup.
8 Iago Aspas
Notable clubs: Liverpool and Celta Vigo
A cult hero of the highest regard, Iago Aspas is probably best remembered among Premier League aficionados for not living up to expectations at Liverpool. But don’t allow his unpromising stint on the red half of Merseyside cloud over the brilliance of the Spaniard, who has racked up in excess of 500 appearances for his current employers, Celta Vigo.
Recognised as a footballing god among the Estadio de Balaidos faithful, Aspas – whose exploits at club level has allowed him to become a 20-cap Spain international – has plenty of experience bossing the Europa League, the continent’s second tier competition, but he’s gone his whole career without competing with Europe’s elite.
7 Paul McGrath
Notable clubs: Manchester United, Aston Villa and Sheffield United
Some may remember Paul McGrath being in the Premier League and some may not. Understandably, the hardened centre-back may not carry the same legacy as Lineker, Di Canio and the like – but he played for Manchester United between 1982 and 1989 for a reason. A master at the art of defending, it’s simply a travesty that we never saw McGarth on the Champions League stage.
Roy Keane, Robbie Keane and Shay Given
In fact, the Irishman won the first PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 1992/93 – but a knee injury forced Sir Alex Ferguson into offering him £100,000 to retire prematurely. Moving to Aston Villa, a club accustomed to swinging between success to stress, instead of hanging up his boots, he missed out on the Red Devils’ ventures into the continent’s primary competition.
6 Clint Dempsey
Notable clubs: Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur
A household name for those who reside in England on the back of his two London-based stints at Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham, Clint Dempsey can count himself unlucky to never feature in Europe’s top table – especially given how influential he was in the English capital. That said, a move to one of the continent’s top clubs never came to fruition.
The luxuriously talented striker, who is commonly admired as one of the greatest American players in Premier League history, reached the Europa League final with Fulham but missed the boat on Tottenham’s venture into the Champions League. Forget playing at Europe’s top table: it’s a moment – most notably, their comeback clincher against Juventus in 2010 – that could never be replaced.
5 Gary Lineker
Notable clubs: Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and Everton
Not your typical battering ram of a centre-forward like the aforementioned Ferdinand, Gary Lineker was more instinctive – a frontman who embodied the phrase ‘fox in the box’. And despite turning out for the likes of Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, it wasn't to be for one of England's greatest-ever line-leaders, who went the entirety of his career without getting either a yellow or red card.
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Philipp Lahm (Bayern), Gary Lineker (England)
As alluded to, Europe’s primary competition went through a transition period in 1992 – from the European Cup to the Champions League – and, at that point, the striker was moving onto pastures new: Japanese outfit Nagoya Grampus. Right player? Probably. Wrong time? Definitely. A talismanic figure of Leicester-born Lineker’s talent would have made the Champions League his own.
4 Les Ferdinand
Notable clubs: Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Besiktas
Without question a highly accomplished talisman, Les Ferdinand not playing at the top of the European game is somewhat odd. Seldom in the media spotlight, Ferdinand largely went about his business – which included netting bucketloads of strikes – quietly for an array of top flight sides. In fact, impressively, he’s the ninth-most prolific goalscorer in the history of the Premier League.
Now 58 years of age, the former Newcastle United man was an archetypal targetman – but one UEFA Cup campaign while on the Magpies’ books was as far as his European exposure reached. Post-1992, he played for the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers, which perhaps explains a lot.
3 Ian Wright
Notable clubs: Arsenal, West Ham United and Celtic
Ian Wright’s made-for-consumption personality opened up a seamless post-retirement transition into the world of punditry – but it would be remiss to overstate the fact that he was one of the deadliest frontmen in world football at one point. That’s evidenced by his tally of 185 strikers in 288 outings for Arsenal. Particularly during his stint with the Gunners, it would be wise to assume that he – widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history – managed to play in the Champions League.
Arsenal's Ian Wright, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp in action for the Gunners in front of Highbury Stadium
That would, however, be incorrect. Considered Arsenal royalty, London-born Wright left north London before they made it into the Champions League in 1998/99. Adding to that, his collection of clubs elsewhere – which included the likes of Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest – meant that competing at the top of Europe avoided him. That, however, is no slight on his ability.
2 Matt Le Tissier
Notable clubs: Southampton
A bittersweet story this is. Matt Le Tissier – widely renowned as Le God for his exploits in the final third – plundered some fantastic goals over the years. But the one-club man, by virtue of his undying loyalty to Southampton between 1986 and 2002, hung up his boots with zero Champions League appearances on his resume.
“If I had this time again, I would make the same choices. I put personal happiness above money and trophies and I enjoyed being a big fish in a small pond, I have never been afraid of admitting that," he said, per SportingLife. "I could play football the way I wanted to play football for the majority of the time I was at Southampton.”
1 Paolo Di Canio
Notable clubs: West Ham, Lazio, Juventus and AC Milan
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Believe it or not, Paolo Di Canio never stepped foot on the Champions League stage throughout his 616-outing club career. He managed to win the 1993 UEFA Cup with Juventus and played in the UEFA Super Cup once he signed for AC Milan a year later. In his homeland’s capital, he struggled for game time – and thus, didn’t make a single appearance in the Rossoneri’s run to the 1994/95 Champions League final.
The fact that Di Canio – a scorer of what is widely regarded as one of the best goals in Premier League history – spent a large chunk of his career at West Ham is a key reason why, but he also enjoyed stints with some of Italy’s powerhouses such as Juventus and AC Milan. It also remains one of football’s biggest mysteries how the maverick was never capped by Italy.