By Peter Ochieng
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) runs a host of famous club competitions, the popular one being the EUFA Champions League. The Europa League and the relatively new Conference League are others, besides a host of other youth club championships.
Al-Nassr striker Christiano Ronald holds the record for most EUFA club appearances with a career spanning over 15 years on the books of Sporting Clube de Portugal, or simply Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, English Premier League (EPL) giants Manchester United, Spanish La Liga soccer-powerhouse Real Madrid and Italian Serie A side Juventus.
In this article, we rank 20 players with 150+ UEFA club competition appearances, both retired and active. According to EUFA.com, the 150+ club is made up of three goalkeepers, five defenders, six midfielders and six forwards.
Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos joined the list when he started in Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg at Chelsea on 18 April 2023. His former club-mate Karim Benzema, now at Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League managed his 150th appearance away to Shakhtar Donetsk on 11 October 2022.
Another Real Madrid great, Luka Modrić, reached the landmark on Matchday 3 of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League as the Spanish side visited Braga, while his former team-mate Sergio Ramos brought up his own 150 on the same evening in Sevilla’s home game against Arsenal.
Thomas Müller did the same on Matchday 5 as Bayern took on Copenhagen; he is one of five players on the list to have only played for one club in UEFA competition, while Ivan Rakitić also reached the mark on Matchday 6 in Sevilla’s defeat at Lens.
The other front men to feature are Barcelona legend Lionel Andres Messi, who reached the mark in November 2020, Raúl González, a long-time talisman at the Santiago Bernabéu, and Zlatan Ibrahimović alias Ibracadabra who got there in AC Milan’s game against Liverpool on 7th December 2021.
Here is the full list:
197: Cristiano Ronaldo (Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus). He is the outright holder of the record. Having left Manchester United to Al-Nassir in 2022, the possibility of adding to his tally is slim, especially after he declared that his work in Europe is done.
“My work in Europe is done. I played at the best clubs in the world, and I won everything. I’m happy, proud to join Al Nassr. People don’t know about the level here. This contract is unique because I am a unique player. It’s normal for me,” he said during his unveiling on January 03, 2023.
192: Pepe Reina (Barcelona, Villarreal, Liverpool, Napoli, AC Milan, Lazio). The Spaniard is still active, currently playing for Spanish side, Villareal. He needs five more matches to equal Ronaldo’s record, and six more to claim the record. However, the dream may never come to pass for the 41-year-old player, given the fact that he is not a first-choice keeper at the Blue Submarines.
The Blue Submarines are out of the 2023/2024 Champions League, and out of contention for the 2024/2025 Champions League slot, given the fact that the team currently occupies position 11 in La Liga.
188: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Porto). Retired.
174: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan). The legendary Italian defender is one of the one-club men on this list.
173: Xavi Hernández (Barcelona). Another one club-man. Currently serving as Barcelona manager.
167: Gianluigi Buffon (Parma, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain). Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. One of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and at 657 games, holds the record for the most appearances in the Serie A.
167: Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain). Currently features for Inter Miami in the US.
163: Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter, AC Milan). Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UEFA Champions League history, as he is the only player to have won the Champions League with three clubs – once with Ajax, in 1995, once with Real Madrid, in 1998 and twice with AC Milan, in 2003 and 2007.
161: Raúl González (Real Madrid, Schalke). Retired.
160: Javier Zanetti (Inter). Retired.
159: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United). Retired.
159: Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid). Still active, bossing Real Madrid midfield.
157: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid). Plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League.
155: Dani Alves (Sevilla, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain). Was on 22 February 2024 found guilty of rape, and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
153: Luka Modrić (Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham, Real Madrid). Still active with Real Madrid.
153: Thomas Müller (Bayern). Yet another one club-man.
152: Sergio Ramos (Sevilla, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain). Still going strong for Sevilla.
150: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool). 2005 Champions League winner.
150: Zlatan Ibrahimović (Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United). Never won the Champions League, despite playing for some of the best sides in Europe.
150: Ivan Rakitić (Basel, Schalke, Sevilla, Barcelona).