It’s hard to believe these clubs have never won it…
As Europe’s top club competition cranks up the pressure in the coming weeks, entering the knock-out stages and whittling the sides down at a much quicker rate than before, we look at the best sides never to have had the privilege of winning the trophy.
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Olympiakos
The Greek powerhouse has surprisingly won the fourth most Champions League games without winning the competiton. It may be a surprise to see this side in a list of quality sides from Europe’s top club competition, but historically they have dominated domestically having won a record 41 Greek championships and 30 national cups.
AS Roma
The Italian giants have won 24 Champions League games, and did win the European Cup in 1984, though this was before it changed to the current format. The Wolves have won Serie A three times, the Coppa Italia nine times along with the UEFA Cup in 1991, they are footballing heavyweights.
Schalke 04
While the Gelsenkirchen club may not have as big a pedigree as some in this list, having last won the Bundesliga in 1958, they are perennial competitors in the Champions League and were runners-up in Germany’s top league in 2010.
The Germans have won the German Cup five times, most recently in 2011, the same season they reached the Champions League semi-finals, added to which they also won the UEFA Cup in 1997.
Shakhtar Donetsk
The Ukrainian side have been a menace to the more established forces of Europe and have appeared nine times. Their finest hour perhaps coming as they defeated Roma 6-2 on aggregate in the last 16 in the 2010-11 season, only two years after the Europa League title they secured.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid secured La Liga title in a thrilling climax last season, which saw them play their nearest challengers Barcelona on the final day of the season.
They have won the title on another nine occasions but never won the Champions League, taking bitter city rivals Real Madrid to extra time last season.
Manchester City
The Citizens may be relatively new on the block on the Champions League scene but have won the Premier League twice in the past four years.
Thanks to the takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, Manchester City have been able to strengthen their squad by spending hundreds of millions, attracting top European talent to the blue half of the city.
Lyon
Lyon haven’t played Champions League football since the 2011-12 season, though they played for 12 consecutive seasons previous to that.
Between the years of 2002 and 2008 they dominated Ligue 1, winning the title every year with players such as Lisandro Lopez and Hugo Lloris in tow. They appeared in the semi-finals in 2010, along with three consecutive quarter-final appearances between 2004 and 2006.
Valencia
Possibly one of the unluckiest teams in Europe, domestically overshadowed by the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid and missed out on the Champions League by losing two finals in consecutive years.
Valencia lost 3-0 to Real Madrid in 2000 and in 2001 suffered the crushing disappointment of a penalty defeat to Bayern Munich.
Paris Saint-Germain
PSG suffered somewhat of a slump in the league between … when Lyon won consecutive Ligue 1 titles for seven years, though Les Parisiens have started to establish themselves as a major European force once again.
Thanks to huge funds from Qatar Investment Authority, the French side have been able to sign talent such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani as they search the elusive European title.
Arsenal
The Gunners have appeared in 17 consecutive Champions League tournaments and have won by far the most games in the tournament without actually winning the trophy with 76 victories.
The closest Arsenal have come was the Paris final of 2006, in which they let a one goal lead slip against Barcelona, losing 2-1.