Best Players To Have Never Won A Trophy

In the footballing world, winning trophies is all that matters to some players. However, for others, staying loyal to their club and being satisfied with their team trump any title they could win elsewhere. At the top of the sport, all footballers want to win trophies, after all, it’s what they’re paid to do, but not all of them achieve this feat.

Throughout history, high-profile players have missed out on winning trophies in their tenure, including players who have lost out on success with their respective national teams. Let’s look at those who never got their shot at lifting a cup victoriously.

Best Players to Have Never Won a Trophy

Marvin Martin

Marvin Martin was a French attacking midfielder produced by the Lille academy, which has seen amazing talents such as Frank Ribery, Leny Yoro, and Divock Origi come through the ranks.

As a young talent, Martin was nicknamed the “new Zidane”, he burst onto the scene with bags of creativity, but he never took that next step to becoming an elite player. Injuries and inconsistent forms prevented him from pursuing a successful career, and he never reached the highs of Zidane’s legacy. When Martin started his journey as a professional footballer, France was a dominant force on the international stage. Martin was never called up to be part of the major tournament-winning squad. Marvin made over 200 appearances in France’s 1st division and racked up 40+ assists in his career.

Leighton Baines

Leighton Baines made over 400 appearances for Everton in what was seen as a successful 13 years at Goodison Park and cemented himself as a legend within the club. Baines started his journey with Wigan Athletic. In the early 2010s, his career begun as he scored five goals and assisted his teammates 11 times in the 2010/11 season. He continued in this form for the next few years, earning interest from Manchester United in 2014, but he declined to stay with the Toffees.

The full-back featured in the Wigan team that lost the League Cup to Manchester United in 2006 and was also an FA Cup runner-up for Everton in 2009 when they lost to Chelsea. Baines was a regular feature in the national team between 2010 and 2015, making 30 appearances. Who knows what might’ve become of him had he entertained an offer from the Red Devils?

Ismael Urzaiz

Ismael Urzaiz was a product of Real Madrid’s world-renowned academy, but his career at the Los Blancos was cut short. Urzaiz did not make a senior appearance for the first team in the Spanish first division before being put on the transfer list.

Urzaiz had stints at multiple clubs during his 17-year professional career. His most enjoyable spell came at Athletic Club, where he scored 128 goals across 11 seasons. The forward was also a regular in the Spanish national team. The forward won 25 caps for the national team and scored eight goals. He had a brief spell at Ajax, only making three appearances in the 2007-2008 season before deciding to retire. The Spanish international had 600 appearances in professional football but no trophies to his name.

Bruno Soriano

Bruno Soriano was a one-club player. He played out his entire career at Villareal and made 425 appearances across all competitions between 2006 and 2014. Bruno also had the pleasure of playing for the Spanish national team 10 times in his career.

Bruno was unfortunate in the tail-end of his career, as he was sidelined for almost 3 years through injury. The midfielder eventually returned to the pitch to make a small number of appearances for the club before he announced his retirement.

Xabi Prieto

Xabi Prieto was a leading light and a household name in the San Sebastian region, with over 450 appearances. Prieto had spent his whole career at Real Sociedad. Prieto was an attacking midfielder who had the technical ability and a footballing brain that few could lay claim to. He’s a midfielder who can operate both in wide areas and centrally.

Unfortunately, Prieto never had the honour of playing for his national side. However, he is one of five players to make over 400 appearances for Real Sociedad.

Borja Valero

Borja Valero started playing professional football at Real Madrid as a youth player. In the 2006/07 season, he made only one appearance for Los Blancos, which was not enough to earn a winners’ medal.

After playing at Mallorca, West Brom, and Villareal, Valero played nine seasons in Serie A (Italy’s first division). He played for Fiorentina and Inter Milan during his nine-year stint in Italy. Valero was awarded Spanish player of the year in 2009. Valero was also a featured player in the Fiorentina Side, which lost in the Coppa Italia, and a Europa League finalist with Inter Milan.

4. Joseba Etxeberria

As a youngster, Joeseba Etxeberria was a brief feature in the Real Sociedad side. Ultimately, he returned to Athletic Club, where he had played at the youth level. Joesba would spend the rest of his professional career at Bilbao.

Etxeberria was part of the Bilbao side that lost 4-1 to treble winners Barcelona in 2009. He never won a trophy in his career, but he racked up over 500 appearances for the Spanish outfit and won 53 caps for the Spanish national team. He appeared in the 1998 World Cup and two European Championships.

Bernd Schinder

Bernd Schinder was known for his electrifying dribbling, immense passing skills, and long-range shooting. Between 1999 and 2008, he won 81 caps for Germany.

Schneider didn’t have the most fantastic luck winning trophies in his professional career. He was part of the German national side, finishing as a runner-up to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup final. To make it even worse, he was a star in Bayer Leverkusen’s side that missed out on three trophies in 2001/02, losing out in the finals of the German Cup and the Champions League and finishing second in the Bundesliga.

Antonio Di Natale

Antonio Di Natale made 42 appearances for Italy, scoring 11 goals, and was part of the Italian squad that reached the final of Euro 2012, where they were beaten 4-0 by a very dominant Spanish team.

Di Natale twice finished as Serie A’s top scorer at the club level, but he spent his best years at Udinese. He had offers from Juventus but decided to stay loyal, which led to Di Natale never getting remarkably close to winning a trophy. The striker retired in 2016 as a club legend after scoring 227 goals in 446 appearances for the Italian Club.

Matt Le Tissier

Matt Le Tissier was a stupendously gifted forward who scored many spectacular goals. Southampton fans nicknamed him “Le God.” to show his gratitude to them. He spent his entire career on the South Coast.

Le Tissier rejected offers from many top clubs, like Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham. This may have been why he never had such a great career representing his nation. Le Tissier only made eight appearances for the England national team. If he had moved to a bigger club, he might have had more caps at the international level and, who knows, might have even won a trophy.

There has been an abundance of amazingly talented players who have unfortunately been unable to bring home any trophies throughout their careers. To keep up with everything football-related, whether player statistics or team news, visit the Tangobet news page. If you’re looking for extra betting tips in the football world, then your answers are right here.

While these legends never lifted a trophy, you can still back today’s champions and underdogs by placing your bets with Tangobet, your trusted online sports betting platform.