Some players play the entirety of their careers without getting a sniff of silverware. Others collect medals like they’re going out of fashion.
These five uber-successful superstars presumably need a whole can of Pledge just to buffer up their ridiculous haul of medals.
5) Gerard Pique – 37 trophies
From lifting Champions League trophies to parading the World Cup around Soccer City in Johannesburg, the Spanish centre-back essentially completed football by winning it all.
Having never really established himself at Manchester United, despite being highly regarded, Pique returned to his boyhood club Barcelona in 2008 to join a club ready to explode in greatness.
Under Pep Guardiola’s tutelage, the defender was encouraged to display parts of his game that was somewhat distrusted in England, namely an ability to play out from the back which he was urged to do at every opportunity. Few before or since have done this better.
Bolstering a team that won nine La Liga titles in 14 years, Pique went on to divorce Shakira post-retirement. Every man is allowed one misstep.
4) Andres Iniesta - 37 trophies
This Barca legend and all-round pass-master also won nine La Liga titles from a supreme period of dominance that had Spain in a tiki-taka stranglehold. Had football betting online been around back then, just imagine the slender odds.
Supernaturally good with the ball at his feet, Iniesta additionally played a pivotal role in the Blaugrana winning four Champions League trophies in six years. Let’s not forget either his extra-time winner for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final.
Iniesta’s technical brilliance was unsurpassed but what placed him on an even higher plateau was an innate understanding of the game and an expert reading of movement around him.
3) Hossam Ashour - 39 trophies
What’s the betting Ashour is an unknown figure to many, the Egyptian defensive midfielder hardly a household name beyond the Nile League.
Indeed, despite winning an absurd 13 league titles with Al Ahly, along with so many Egyptian Super Cups they should probably have renamed it after him, perhaps his most famous moment arrived in the form of infamy, when he was banned in 2017 for assaulting a referee.
Perhaps the official cheekily reminded him that in 2014/15, Zamalek SC pipped Al Ahly to the league crown, the big loser.
2) Dani Alves - 44 trophies
It’s tempting to believe that Alves is so high on this list due to his 12 years at Barcelona and while it’s true the bulk of his silverware was won in Catalonia, elsewhere he remained a trophy-winning machine.
There were two UEFA Cups won back-to-back with Sevilla. A Serie A title with Juventus. Two league titles with PSG.
In 2021, in the twilight of an astounding career, Brazil’s second most capped player helped Sao Paulo secure their first Campeonato Paulista for 16 years.
It’s almost as if having one of the greatest full-backs of all time marauding down the right, brings success to a team.
Post-retirement, Alves was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual assault. Is it possible to still admire the player for his achievements? Much less so, for sure.
1) Lionel Messi - 44 trophies
There is something quite satisfying about the GOAT being unsurpassed for honours won. It fits. It’s as it should be.
Messi’s magic conjured up 33 trophies for Barcelona across an era that will perhaps forever be viewed as the game’s benchmark, before extending PSG’s dominance in Ligue 1. There was also the small matter of inspiring his country to World Cup glory in 2022.
Presently at Inter Miami, the dynamic bursts are now few and far between but still there are moments of pure joy and genius.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
