Players with the most Champions League titles: Ronaldo No. 2 in history

There are few better ways to determine the quality of a footballer than by the trophies he and his teams have won. 

Being crowned the best club in Europe is one of the top honors for a footballer and dozens of players have won the European Cup or Champions League trophies three or more times. The question is, who are the players with the most Champions League titles?

The Champions League (and its predecessor, the European Cup) has been around since 1955 and no club has won the competition more than Real Madrid's 13. So it's little surprise Real Madrid players are all over this list of players with the most Champions League titles. AC Milan has won the tournament the next most with seven championships followed by Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Liverpool with five apiece.

Only one player has been crowned the best in Europe more than five times, 10 have won it five or more times and 20 have won it four or more times.

Below is the list of players with the most Champions League titles, including European Cup triumphs.

#1: Francisco Gento (Real Madrid) — 6 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966)

The most successful player in the history of European continental club football, Gento was the captain of Los Blancos in 1966 after playing for the club that won the first five European Cups.

#2: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan) — 5 (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007)

Paolo Maldini won two European Cups and three Champions League trophies.

The resolute Italian defender made 647 appearances with AC Milan from 1985 to 2009, including eight European Cup or Champions League finals. He won five, including as captain in 2003 and 2007.

#2: Alessandro Costacurta (AC Milan) — 5 (1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007)

Costacurta was suspended for the 1994 final and was not in the match-day squad in 2007 but started in the other two finals.

#2 (tie): Héctor Rial, Juan Alonso, Juan Santisteban, Marquitos, Rafael Lesmes, José María Zárraga, Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid) — 5 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960)

Rounding out a nine-way tie for second are seven Real Madrid players who helped Los Merengues win the first five European Cups. Juan Alonso was the team captain in 1958 while José María Zárraga captained Los Blancos in 1959 and 1960.

#2: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Real Madrid) — 5 (2008, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Cristiano Ronaldo has won one Champions League title with Manchester United and three with Real Madrid.

Ronaldo became the first player to score in the final with two separate teams, having won the competition with both Manchester United (2008) and Real Madrid (2014, 2016, 2017).

#12: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) — 4 (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)

Iniesta is a perfect 4-0 in finals in which he's appeared.

#12: Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, AC Milan) — 4 (1995, 1998, 2003, 2007)

The Dutch midfielder is the only player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs, winning his last two with AC Milan.

#12 Xavi (Barcelona) — 4 (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)

The midfielder was captain of the 2015 side but didn't play during the knockout stages of the 2006 tournament.

#12: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) — 4 (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)

Count 'em: four Champions League titles for Lionel Messi.

Messi didn't play after the Round of 16 in 2006 but was the main man in Barca's last three Champions League titles.

#12: Gerard Piqué (Manchester United, Barcelona) — 4 (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015)

Though Piqué was not in the match-day squad for Manchester United in 2008, he managed to win back-to-back Champions League titles with the Red Devils and then in 2009 with Barcelona.

#12: Phil Neal (Liverpool) — 4 (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984)

Phil Neal was a part of all four of Liverpool's European Cup championships.

The Reds won four European Cups in addition to their magical Champions League triumph in 2005. Neal, a fullback, was the only man to play for all four of Liverpool's European Cup-winning sides from 1977-1984.

#12: José Santamaría (Real Madrid) — 4 (1958, 1959, 1960, 1966)

The Uruguayan center back appeared for the national teams of both Uruguay (20 caps) and Spain (16 caps).

#12: Joseíto (Real Madrid) — 4 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)

The Spaniard, who scored 77 goals in 177 matches for Real Madrid, would be higher on this list with five had he not moved to Levante after the 1959 season.

#12: Enrique Mateos (Real Madrid) — 4 (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960)

The striker scored 27 goals in 52 appearances over eight years mostly as a reserve with Los Blancos from 1953-1961, though he did not garner enough appearances to earn a champions medal for the 1956 triumph.

#12: Nacho, Casemiro, Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal, Isco, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Marcelo, Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) — 4 (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)

This core of Real Madrid players was a part of four UCL titles in five years.

#12: Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich, Real Madrid) — 4 (2013, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Toni Kroos missed out on the first of Real Madrid's run from 2014-2018, but he won one with Bayern Munich before moving to Spain.

#31: 62 tied with 3

Keylor Navas, Kiko Casilla, Mateo Kovacic, Lucas Vazquez, Pepe, Savio, Fernando Hierro, Roberto Carlos, Raul, Fernando Morientes, Guti, Aitor Karanka, Iker Casillas, Ferenc Puskas, Rogelio Dominguez, Raymond Kupa, Angel Atienza, Miguel Munoz, Bercerril Minguela, Ramon Marsal Ribo (Real Madrid) — 3

Sergio Busquets, Pedro, Dani Alves, Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol (Barcelona) — 3

Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona, Inter Milan) — 3

Fernando Redondo (Real Madrid, AC Milan) — 3

Frank Rijkaard (AC Milan, Ajax) — 3

Mauro Tassotti, Filippo Galli, Roberto Donadoni, Franco Baresi (AC Milan) — 3

Alan Hansen, Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish, Ray Clemence, Terry McDermott, Ray Kennedy, Jimmy Case, Steve Heighway (Liverpool) — 3

Sepp Maier, Johnny Hansen, Hans-George Schwarzenbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Bernd Durnberger, Franz Roth, Hans-Josef Kapellmann, Gerd Muller, Ulrich Hoeness, Rainer Zoebl, Conny Torstensson (Bayern Munich) — 3

Heinz Stuy, Wim Suurbier, Barry Hulshoff, Horst Blankenburg, Johan Neeskens, Arnold Muhren, Gerrie Muhren, Arie Haan, Johan Cruijff, Piet Keizer, Sjaak Swart (Ajax) — 3