The Champions League is undoubtedly the greatest prize in club football. To many, it even rivals the World Cup in terms of its importance.
Modern-day superstars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Neymar have never lifted the World Cup, but each has celebrated Champions League glory.
Such are the tight margins between the top stars in Europe that Champions League success is often a key point of discussion when examining a player's legacy.
A surprising number of top-tier ballers have failed to get their hands on 'Old Big Ears' since the European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992/93.
On that note, the folks over at FourFourTwo recently ranked the 15 best players never to win the Champions League and we've taken a look at their verdict below.
Some of these legends of the game couldn't get over the line in the latter stages of the competition, while others simply weren't part of sides that were quite strong enough to challenge for the trophy.
Who are the best players never to win the Champions League?
15. Gabriel Batistuta
The Fiorentina legend only played in the Champions League with La Viola for one season. He moved to Roma at the age of 31, but never made it beyond the group stages in the Italian capital.
14. Hernan Crespo
Crespo bagged two first-half goals for AC Milan in the 2005 final against Liverpool and must have believed he was 45 minutes away from a winners' medal in Istanbul.
Unfortunately, the Reds had other ideas, completing a legendary comeback from 3-0 down to dash the Argentine's hopes.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 25: AC Milan forward Hernan Crespo of Argentina scores the third goal during the European Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan on May 25, 2005 at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
13. Cesc Fabregas
A runner-up with Arsenal in 2006, Fabregas failed to win the trophy in his three seasons at Barcelona.
A victim of unfortunate timing, he left Camp Nou for Chelsea in 2014. Barca would lift the Champions League the following year.
12. Michael Ballack
The German midfielder lost two Champions League finals with two separate clubs.
Ballack was in the Leverkusen side that lost to Real Madrid in 2002. Six years later, he suffered the agony of defeat on penalties as he featured for Chelsea against Manchester United in 2008.
MOSCOW - MAY 21: Michael Ballack of Chelsea controls the ball under pressure from Paul Scholes of Manchester United during the UEFA Champions League Final match between Manchester United and Chelsea at the Luzhniki Stadium on May 21, 2008 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
11. Ruud van Nistelrooy
Top scorer in the tournament on three occasions, Van Nistelrooy notched 56 Champions League goals in his career.
The Dutchman is the highest-scoring player never to have won the tournament.
10. Pavel Nedved
The 2003 Ballon d'Or winner was suspended from that year's final as his Juventus colleagues were defeated by AC Milan on penalties.
He never reached the same stage of the tournament again.
TURIN - FEBRUARY 25: Pavel Nedved of Juventus is tackled by Nicky Butt of Manchester United during the UEFA Champions League Second Phase Group D match held on February 25, 2003 at the Stadio Delle Alpi, in Turin, Italy. Manchester United won the match 3-0. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)
9. Lilian Thuram
A teammate of Nedved's at Juventus, Thuram did take the field for the 2003 final.
After the bitter disappointment of that loss, the French defender did go on to enjoy World Cup and European Championship glory with his national side.
Champions League success, though, would elude him for the rest of his career.
8. Francesco Totti
The Roma's icon's loyalty to his beloved club likely cost him a few trophies over the years.
The competition's oldest ever goalscorer never advanced beyond the quarter-final stage.
5 Dec 2001: Francesco Totti of AS Roma takes on Dietmar Hamann and Sami Hyypia of Liverpool during the UEFA Champions League Group B match played at the Stadio Olimpico, in Rome, Italy. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. Mandatory Credit: Stu Forster /Allsport
7. Fabio Cannavaro
Cannavaro, the 2006 Ballon d'Or winner, represented such European powerhouses as Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid.
Surprisingly, he never made it past the semi-finals.
6. Eric Cantona
The enigmatic Frenchman announced the shock decision to end his career at the conclusion of the 1996/97 season - a campaign in which he reached the semi-finals with Man United.
Had Cantona not made the decision to hang up his boots, he could very well have featured for the Red Devils in their 1999 triumph over Bayern Munich.
It wasn't to be, though, and the United legend walked off into the sunset with a last-four appearance as his Champions League best.
5. Patrick Vieira
We won't feel too sorry for Vieira. After all, while he did miss out on a Champions League medal in his career, he did win pretty much everything else.
World Cup? European Championships? Premier League? Serie A? The Frenchman won them all.
Vieira narrowly missed out with Inter Milan when they won the competition in 2009/10, following his January 2010 move to Manchester City.
He made two appearances in the competition for Inter during their campaign, but that wasn't enough to qualify him for a winners' medal.
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
With 124 Champions League outings to his name, the charismatic Swede holds the unwanted distinction of being the individual with the most Champions League appearances without actually raising the trophy.
It could have been so different, too. Ibrahimovic left Inter the season before they won the 2010 competition.
He then managed to do the same thing after departing Barcelona the following season.
ROME, ITALY - FEBRUARY 28: Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan reacts during the Serie A match between AS Roma and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico on February 28, 2021 in Rome, Italy. Sporting stadiums around Italy remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
3. Gianluigi Buffon
The Italian legend did all he could to try and help Juventus win the 2003 prize, making a pair of penalty shoot-out saves in the final.
It wasn't to be - and 'Gigi' went on to lose a further two finals.
The veteran 'keeper now looks certain to end his career without a winners' medal - and we can't help feeling a little bit sad about it.
2. Dennis Bergkamp
Bergkamp's infamous fear of flying presented obvious difficulties with his participation in European competition.
He made the Arsenal bench as an unused substitute for their defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 final, but his incredible talent should have seen him achieve more in Europe's premier club competition.
30 Sep 1998: Dennis Bergkamp of Arsenal lets fly during the UEFA Champions League match against Panathinaikos at Wembley in London. Arsenal won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths /Allsport
1. Ronaldo Nazario
The Brazilian icon played for some of the biggest clubs of his era, but never managed Champions League glory.
Had it not been for his outrageously poor luck with injuries, the 1997 Ballon d'Or winner might well have got his hands on the trophy.
His 2003 quarter-final hat-trick at Old Trafford to dump United out remains one of the competition's all-time great performances, but 'El Fenomeno' can't call himself a Champions League winner.
MADRID - OCTOBER 22: Ronaldo of Real Madrid during The Champions league match between Real Madrid and AEK Athens at The Bernabeu stadium, Madrid, Spain on october, 22, 2002. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)