The debate of topmost celebrated football players span through generations of football lovers, owing to the ever-changing nature of the game, the answer might not be duly satisfactory but the best-perceived- footballers have been pointed out, spanning through various generations.
- Lionel Messi (31 trophies)
Country: Argentina, Club: Barcelona.
Messi, arguably is due on this list and will come to mind before any other, he has won a total of 30 trophies with Barcelona, this he largely owes to his fast feet, making it inconceivable for defenders to get him when he’s on field, at age 30, this five-time Ballon d’Or winner is featuring on numerous headlines. It’s not surprising that he has achieved more trophies than his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Kenny Daglish (31 trophies)
Country: Scotland
Club: Celtic and Liverpool
Dalglish was the reigning hero in the Liverpool sides that ruled English football in the late 70’s/ mid-80s. he racked up a noteworthy 31 trophies amid his club career with Celtic and Liverpool. He bagged 6 league titles, 1 FA Cup, 4 league cups and 3 European cups, all in the space of 8 years, nailing 118 goals in total. He ended his playing career as Liverpool’s greatest player and as the most decorated player in British domestic football.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (35 trophies)
Country: Sweden
Clubs: Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter-Milan, Barcelona, AC-Milan, PSG and Manchester United
Since he left his native Sweden in 2001, he has won at least one trophy in every season, a title winner in 13 of the 16 seasons during the same period and won trophies at seven different clubs and league titles in four different countries.
- Ryan Giggs (36 trophies)
Country: Wales
Club: Manchester United
He has won more trophies combined than all but three clubs in English football. He was the most outstanding among the most coveted and decorated British footballers for quite a while. he also has won almost every trophy Sir Alex Ferguson lifted, having won an exceptional thirty-six trophies during his long and illustrious football career.
- Dani Alves (38 trophies)
Country: Brazil
Club: Bahia, Barca, Sevilla and Juventus
He has carved out for himself a reputation as a serial trophy hoarder has he has lifted numerous trophies. Even when he left Juventus, he added two more trophies to his expanding trophy feats. There is great anticipation that he’ll lift the French league and possibly two league cups this season.
- Andres Iniesta (34 trophies)
Country: Spain
Club: Barcelona
Iniesta won his Last silverware back in 2007/08, he has put in as a player of the match performance in such huge numbers of finals that it would not have been fair if he wasn’t included in this list. He is considered an outstanding midfielder amongst others and his incredible trophy haul of 34 is an evidence of the incredible career he has experienced.
- Victor Baia (33 trophies)
Country: Portugal
Club: FC Porto and Barcelona
This outstanding goalkeeper spent sixteen fruitful years in his homeland, briefly leaving to Barcelona in 1996, he won five trophies in the space of two years before returning to his homeland, although few football fans knew about this goalkeeper, he had a total of 406 caps for Porto which is more than any other player who played in the Portuguese top flight.
- Gerard Pique (32 trophies)
Country: Spain
Clubs: Manchester and Barcelona
With the help of a remarkable team and his tireless effort, Pique won an outstanding number of trophies. He left camp Nou for 4 years and was immediately “caught” by Manchester United in 2004. He went ahead to win 3 trophies in his last season at Old Trafford after which he returned to Barca which was trailed by 25-trophies which he added to his increasing trophies and which has earned him a leading role in the Catalunya defense.
- Pele (15 trophies)
Country: Brazil
Club: Santos CF, New York Cosmos
He was born with the name Edison Arantes de Nas Amento and came into limelight when he lit up the 1958 World Cup at the tender age of 17, he scored six goals at this tournament and helped Brazil to lift the coveted Jules Rimet, breaking record and ‘scoring’ the cup for the first time in the history of Brazil, his known was widely known and mentioned.
- Zinedine Zidane (10 trophies)
Country: France
Club: Real Madrid, Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus
Zinedine Yazid Zidane nicknamed ‘Zizov’ is a French retired professional footballer and current manager of Real Madrid. He scored one of the greatest goals in UEFA Champions League history in the 2002 finals, netted twice for his national side in their 1998n World Cup Final win over Brazil and guided them to victory in Euro 2000. He was well-known for his elegance, ball-control and exceptional vision which earned him the title of the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll in 2004. No doubt, he’s considered one of the greatest players of all times.
- Cristiano Ronaldo (24 trophies)
Country: Portugal
Club: Real Madrid
Regarded as once the world’s costliest signing, he is Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer, the first ever player involved in a major league scoring more than 50 goals every season for six consecutive seasons and the only European to bag four Ballon d’Or awards.
- David Beckham (21 trophies)
Country: England
Club: Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, PSG
David Beckham Is the first English player to win league titles in four countries; England, Spain, U.S.A and France, during his 20-year career, he won 19 major trophies, he held the appearance record for an outfield player for the England national team till 2016 when Wayne Rooney overtook him, he was runner-up in the Ballo d’Or, twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year.
- Wael Gomaa (32 trophies)
Country: Egypt
Club: Al-Mehalla, Al-ahly, and Al-Siliya
This Egyptian international player bagged an amazing 29 trophies during the span of his career, which spanned over two decades. He bagged the following trophies; 6 CAF Champions League, 5 CAF Super Cup, 3 Egyptian Cup, 6 Egyptian Super Cup, 1 CAF Confederation, 3 Africa Cup of Nation and 8 Premier League.
- Maxwell Cabelino Andrade (38 trophies)
Country: Brazil
Club: Cruzeiro, Ajax, Inter-Milan, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain
He holds the record for most trophies in most footballers club career and has played for many clubs and currently playing for PSG as a left-back, as of his retirement, he was the most decorated active footballer in Europe.
- Bastian Schweinsteiger (29 trophies)
Country: Germany
Club: Bayern Munich and Manchester United
Securing victories in the Community Shield, EFL Cup and Europa League final increased the figures of achievements of Bastian, including World Cup Winner’s medal. He is Germany’s fourth most-capped player of all times.
- George Best (12 trophies)
Country: Northern Ireland
Club: Manchester United
Blessed with a magical dribbling ability, sense of balance and a blistering pace, the hard-partying winger still remains an iconic figure. He won two league titles and a European Cup as a pivotal member of Sir Matt Busby’s rebuilt United Side. He played for Manchester United and Northern Ireland national team as a winger.
- Paul Scholes (25 trophies)
Country: England
Club: Manchester United
During his second season as a professional, he lifted his first trophy, he scored a Premier League and FA Cup double during the 1995/96 season and brought his 20-year playing career to an end with his 13th league title in 2013. He won a total of 25 trophies featuring 11 Premier League titles and two Champions League titles.
- Sergio Brusquets (26 trophies)
Country: Spain
Club: F. C. Barcelona
Having the European Championship victories with Spain and the World Cup to speak for him, Sergio is considered a man who played an important role in Barcelona’s modern domination and has trophies to show for it, he also played as a defensive midfielder for Spain National Team. He helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and the Euro 2012 tournaments. He also represented the nation at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016.
- Marco Van Basten
Country: Netherlands
Club: FIFA
His goal against Russia at the Euro 1988 finals set him in the limelight, with his expertise in impossibly tight-angled volleys and an intelligent reading of the game, he was the most graceful striker in his time, he helped Netherland in netting their first ever major International Trophy and guided Ajax to three Eredivisie titles and a Winner’s Cup, also guiding Barca to four La Liga Championships and three European Cups.
- Paolo Madini
Country: Italy
Club: A.C. Milan
He was a man committed to A.C. Milan defense, spending twenty-five years and winning so many trophies in over 900 appearances. He was nicknamed Capitano and appeared in three Euros and 4 World Cups including USA ’94 where he was named in the team of the tournament.
There you have it. A list of the top 20 most decorated footballer in the history of the world. Who is your favorite?
