15 Most Decorated Players in Football History Ranked by Trophies Won

Every football player dreams of lifting as much silverware as they can possibly get their hands on. Some of the best players to have played the beautiful game have extremely bare-looking trophy cabinets, proving just how difficult it is to win any honour in the sport.

Players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have made it look easy for many years, as the duo have led their respective teams to an unbelievable number of trophies over their long and storied careers. Then there are mercenaries like Zlatan Ibrahimovic who – while also brilliant players in their own right – move around the most historically successful clubs in the world to collect silverware at will.

This article now looks at the most successful players in football history, based on the number of trophies they have amassed throughout their playing careers. There’s even a chance for a couple of these players to add further to their already sensational hauls.

Messi is the greatest footballer of all-time in the eyes of many, and he’s also now the (joint) most decorated player ever. The Argentine won an incredible 34 trophies during his time at Barcelona, before going on to win three more at Paris Saint-Germain. It looked as if Messi would end his career having never won the World Cup, but his dreams finally came true in 2022 when he was instrumental in La Albiceleste’s triumph in Qatar.

It took Messi just one month to add to his remarkable silverware tally with Inter Miami after joining the MLS club in 2023. After scoring a hugely impressive 10 goals in his first seven appearances for the Florida-based outfit, Messi got his hands on the Leagues Cup. This was Inter Miami’s first ever trophy – a huge moment for Messi, Beckham, and everyone else associated with the Major League Soccer club

The first player in football history to reach 43 trophies, Dani Alves is widely regarded as one of the best full-backs of all time. The Brazilian defender has won trophies in his homeland with Bahia and Sao Paulo, while he also enjoyed great success in Spain with Sevilla and Barcelona, in Italy with Juventus and in France with Paris Saint-Germain. He also won five trophies for his country, including two Copa America titles, twelve years apart, in 2007 and 2019 respectively.