For some players, football is only about winning. For others, loyalty and happiness at a club is more important than trophies.
At the highest level, though, all footballers want to win prizes and most elite players get their hands on a piece of silverware at some stage. But not all do.
Throughout football history, there are some high-profile players who have missed out on prizes at club level, even if they have had success with their national teams.
Here, a look at some of the most famous footballers – all retired as of January 2024 – who never won a major trophy during their club careers...
32. Simon Davies
Simon Davies made over 300 Premier League appearances for Tottenham, Everton and Fulham between 2000 and 2012 and was Welsh Footballer of the Year in 2008.
The winger scored Fulham's goal in their extra-time defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final in 2010 and came on as a substitute as Spurs lost the 2002 League Cup final to Blackburn. Davies won 58 caps for Wales, scoring six times, including the opener in the Dragons' famous 2-1 victory against Italy in 2002.
31. Benito Carbone
One of the most gifted footballers of his generation, Benito Carbone would often bamboozle his opponents – but sometimes his own team-mates as well.
Despite his huge talent, Carbone was never capped for Italy's senior side and never seemed to spend very long at any of his clubs. He played for 17 in total, including Napoli, Inter, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa – and the closest he came to a trophy was an appearance in the 2000 FA Cup final as the Birmingham side lost 1-0 to Chelsea. He also won Serie B with Torino in 1990.
30. Bruno Soriano
Bruno Soriano spent his entire career at Villarreal and made over 400 appearances for the club between 2006 and 2014. He also won 10 caps for Spain.
Sidelined for almost three years towards the end of his career, the defensive midfielder eventually returned to make a handful of appearances before retirement. He never won a trophy, but Villarreal claimed the first piece of silverware in their history with the Europa League title a year later in 2021.
29. Leighton Baines
Leighton Baines played over 400 times for Everton in a successful 13-season spell at Goodison Park, having previously spent his formative years at Wigan Athletic.
The left-back was a League Cup finalist as Wigan lost to Manchester United in 2006 and an FA Cup runner-up for Everton against Chelsea in 2009. He also won 30 caps for England between 2010 and 2015.
28. Mark Noble
Apart from two short spells on loan at Hull and Ipswich, Mark Noble spent his entire career at West Ham and the midfielder was a huge favourite in east London.
At the club from the age of 11, Noble played 550 times for the Hammers in all competitions and won two play-off finals but ended his career without a major trophy in 2022. One year later, he was emotional as West Ham won the Europa Conference League in Prague, saying it was the result of many years of hard work.
27. Xabi Prieto
Xabi Prieto came through the youth system at Real Sociedad and made over 500 appearances for the San Sebastian side between 2003 and 2018.
One of only five players to reach that milestone at Real Sociedad, Prieto was never capped for Spain and his only silverware was a Second Division trophy in 2010. The midfielder is a one-club man, having only represented the Basque outfit in his 15 years as a professional.
26. Remi Moses
A key player at West Brom and Manchester United under Ron Atkinson, Remi Moses missed out on a full England cap due to injury and was also unfortunate to end his career without a trophy.
Moses played in the Milk Cup final defeat to Liverpool in 1983, but was suspended for United's 1983 FA Cup final win over Brighton and injured two years later as the Red Devils beat Everton in the 1985 showpiece.
25. Len Shackleton
A great entertainer on the pitch who was nicknamed the "Clown Prince of Football", Len Shackleton was at Newcastle for a couple of years before spending the rest of his career with rivals Sunderland.
The showboating forward scored six on his Magpies debut and came close to winning the First Division in 1949/50 as Sunderland finished just a point off the top.
24. Ismael Urzaiz
Ismael Urzaiz started his career at Real Madrid but made only two senior appearances for Los Blancos and became something of a journeyman after that.
His most successful spell came at Athletic Club, where he scored 128 goals in 11 seasons and was a regular in Spain's squads during that time. The striker went on to win 25 caps, scoring eight goals, and had a brief spell at Ajax before hanging up his boots with 600 career appearances. But no trophies.
23. Joe Baker
Joe Baker grew up in Scotland but went on to represent England, where he was born – becoming the first player to play for the Three Lions without having done so in the English league system.
His impressive form at Hibernian earned him a move to Torino, where he linked up with Denis Law, but he soon returned after a number of controversies – including a serious car crash, a hunger strike and punching a photographer into a canal. Back in England, Baker scored 100 goals in four years at Arsenal and later finished second with Nottingham Forest in the First Division, but he never did win a trophy.
22. Borja Valero
Borja Valero started his career at Real Madrid, but made only one first-team appearance for Los Blancos, which was not enough to earn him a winners' medal in LaLiga in 2006/07.
After spells with Mallorca, West Brom and Villarreal, Valero went on to spend nine seasons in Italy, where he played for Fiorentina and Inter. Spanish Player of the Year in 2010, Valero was a Coppa Italia runner-up with the Viola and a Europa League finalist with the Nerazzurri. He never did win a trophy and amid a golden generation of Spanish players, he was capped only once by La Roja.
21. Steve Bull
Steve Bull joined Wolves from local rivals West Brom with the Molineux side in the Fourth Division and helped the club climb up to England's second tier.
Bull never played in England's top flight with Wolves and his loyalty to the club meant he missed out on the chance of winning trophies, but he scored an amazing 306 goals in 561 games for the Molineux outfit and was capped 13 times by England.
20. Rob Lee
Rob Lee was a key part of the Newcastle United side which ran Manchester United close in the Premier League under Kevin Keegan and the midfielder finished as a runner-up in two FA Cup finals for the Magpies.
The midfielder, who also played for Charlton Athletic, Derby County and West Ham, never did win a major trophy at club level, but he did play 21 times for England between 1994 and 1998.
19. Cristiano Doni
An intelligent playmaker who made seven appearances for Italy between 2001 and 2002, Cristiano Doni turned out for seven different Italian clubs – and also had a spell at Mallorca – in a 20-year career.
Best known for his time at Atalanta, where he spent two five-year periods between 1998 and 2003 and from 2006 to 2011, Doni won Serie B with the Nerazzurri, Brescia and Bologna but never got close to a major honour. He was banned for match-fixing at the end of his career.
18. Danny Rose
At his best, Danny Rose was the finest left-back in England and the Doncaster-born defender went on to win 29 caps for the Three Lions. He probably should have had more.
With Rose on the left and Kyle Walker on the right, Spurs had the strongest full-backs in the Premier League for a period under Mauricio Pochettino. But while Walker went to City and won numerous trophies, Rose stayed in north London and ended up with nothing. He came close, though, finishing as a runner-up in two finals – the League Cup in 2015 and the Champions League in 2019. Rose also had short spells at Newcastle and Watford later in his career.
17. Scott Parker
Scott Parker was at Chelsea in Jose Mourinho's first season in charge but missed out on the Blues' League Cup and Premier League wins after he broke a metatarsal bone.
The midfielder made just four Premier League appearances that season, leaving him one short of the minimum required to earn a medal. He joined his team-mates for the celebrations, but left Stamford Bridge in the summer. Parker went on to play for Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham and Fulham, but ended his career without a major trophy. He also played 18 times for England between 2003 and 2013.
16. Malcolm MacDonald
Malcolm MacDonald was a prolific striker for Newcastle United in the 1970s, netting over 130 goals for the Magpies in a five-year spell at St. James' Park. He also famously scored all five goals in a 5-0 win for England over Cyprus in 1975.
An FA Cup runner-up in 1974 and a beaten League Cup finalist in 1976, Supermac left Newcastle empty-handed. He was back in the FA Cup final with Arsenal in 1978, but the Gunners were surprisingly beaten by Ipswich Town and by the time the north London club won the competition in 1979, the striker had been forced to retire due to injury.
15. Fernando Gomez
Born in Valencia, Fernando Gomez has played more La Liga matches for the Mestalla club than any other player.
The midfielder featured in 420 league games between 1984 and 1998 and was also capped eight times by Spain. In 1998, he left to join Wolves on a free transfer, but spent just one season at Molineux. Meanwhile, Valencia went on to win the Copa del Rey in 1998/99. Gomez wrapped up his career at third-tier Castellon in 2000 and hung up his boots without a winners' medal to his name.
14. Clive Allen
Clive Allen played in two FA Cup finals and lost both of them – for QPR against Tottenham in 1982 and then for Spurs versus Coventry City in 1987.
Allen gave Tottenham the lead at Wembley and ended the season with an impressive 49 goals in 54 appearances, but missed out on a winners' medal as Spurs lost 3-2 in extra time. Later, Allen had spells at Bordeaux, Manchester City, Chelsea and West Ham, but he ended his career without a trophy – despite scoring almost 200 goals.
13. Luigi Di Biagio
Luigi Di Biagio won 31 caps for Italy between 1998 and 2002 and had four-year spells at both Roma and Inter in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
One of the best defensive midfielders of his generation, Di Biagio ended his career without a club honour, finishing as a runner-up in the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana with Inter in 2000 and second to Juventus in Serie A in 2003.
12. Joseba Etxeberria
Joseba Etxeberria briefly featured for Real Sociedad as a youngster, but returned to Athletic Club – where he had been in the academy – and spent the rest of his career with the Bilbao side.
A Copa del Rey finalist in 2009, the forward was in years after Athletic's 4-1 loss to treble winners Barcelona. He never did win a trophy, but played over 500 matches for the Basque club and won 53 caps for Spain, appearing in the 1998 World Cup and two European Championships. After his contract expired at San Mames in 2009, Etxeberria effectively played the final year of his career for free.
11. Tom Finney
One of England's all-time greats, Tom Finney spent his entire career at hometown club Preston North End, having grown up in the shadows of the club's Deepdale home.
Operating as a winger or a forward, Finney scored over 200 goals for Preston and hit 30 in 76 appearances for England, helping the Three Lions win the British Home Championship 10 times. But he never did gets his hands on a major trophy for his club. He came close in 1954, but PNE lost a tight FA Cup final to West Brom.
10. Johnny Haynes
Widely regarded as Fulham's greatest ever player, Johnny Haynes spent 18 years at Craven Cottage between 1952 and 1970 and has a statue outside the ground.
Haynes had the chance to join Arsenal in 1952 but signed for Fulham instead. He did not win a trophy at Craven Cottage, but never regretted his decision. Pele once said he had "never seen a better passer of the ball" than Haynes. The midfielder played 56 times for England, many of those as captain, and scored 18 goals.
9. Bernd Schneider
Nicknamed "the white Brazilian" for his dribbling, passing skills and long-range shooting, Bernd Schneider won 81 caps for Germany between 1999 and 2008.
Schneider finished as a runner-up to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup final and was part of the Bayer Leverkusen side which missed out on three trophies in 2001/02, losing out in the finals of the German Cup and the Champions League and also finishing second in the Bundesliga. Rough luck.
8. Stan Collymore
One of the Premier League's most exciting players in the mid-1990s, Stan Collymore played for Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Aston Villa, among others.
The explosive forward helped Forest win promotion to the Premier League in 1994, but never got his hands on a trophy in a colourful career which ended after a disastrous move to Real Oviedo in 2001.
7. Julen Guerrero
Spanish football's poster boy in the early 1990s, Julen Guerrero spent his entire career at Athletic Club and was adored by the fans at San Mames.
The attacking midfielder also played 41 times for Spain, scoring 13 goals, but did not win any silverware for club or country. Only footballers who were born or grew up in the Basque Country are allowed to play for Athletic and the club went for over 30 years without a trophy between 1984 and 2015.
6. Matt Le Tissier
An outrageously gifted attacker and regular scorer of wonderful goals, Matt Le Tissier was nicknamed "Le God" by Southampton fans and he repaid that affection by spending his entire career on the south coast.
Le Tissier rejected offers from Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham and won just eight England caps. He surely would have earned many more at a bigger club and he might have won a trophy, too.
5. Yildiray Basturk
Yildiray Basturk won 49 caps for Turkey in a 10-year international career between 1998 and 2008 and was part of the team which came third at the 2002 World Cup.
At club level, the Germany-born midfielder came close to silverware with Bayer Leverkusen's nearly side of 2001/02, which finished as runners-up in the Bundesliga, the German cup and the Champions League.
4. Giuseppe Signori
Giuseppe Signori was Serie A top scorer as a Lazio player in 1993, 1994 and 1996, but was sold to Sampdoria by Sven-Goran Eriksson in 1998 and therefore missed a successful period for the Roman club.
He went on to spend five years at Bologna and was an Intertoto Cup winner in 1998, along with Valencia and Werder Bremen. That's not a proper trophy, anyway. At international level, Signori played 28 times for Italy and scored seven goals.
3. Socrates
One of the most emblematic footballers in a special generation of Brazilian talents, Socrates never won a major honour for club or country in his playing career.
Something of a cult hero due to his headband, his hairstyle and his lax attitude towards training – he called himself an "anti-athlete", smoked and liked to drink large amounts of beer –, the midfielder won only regional cups with Corinthians and Flamengo, plus a minor competition with Botafogo. Part of the great Brazil side of 1982 which is remembered for its style despite not winning the World Cup, he was a Copa America finalist the following year.
2. Antonio Di Natale
Antonio Di Natale won 42 caps for Italy, scoring 11 goals, and was part of the Azzurri squad which reached the final of Euro 2012.
At club level, he twice finished as Serie A top scorer, but spent his best years at Udinese and never got particularly close to winning a trophy. The striker retired in 2016 as a club legend, though, after scoring 227 goals in 446 appearances for the Bianconeri.
1. Thomas Hassler
One of the best midfielders of his generation, Thomas Hassler was a starter for West Germany in their 1990 World Cup final win over Argentina in 1990 and again as Die Mannschaft triumphed at Euro 96.
The playmaker won 101 caps overall, scoring 11 goals, but never got his hands on a trophy at club level. At FC Koln, he was a runner-up twice in the Bundesliga and also a UEFA Cup finalist. Later, he lost a Supercoppa final with both Juventus and Roma, plus a Coppa Italia final with the Giallorossi. Back in Germany, he was a beaten finalist again in the DFB-Pokal with Karlsruher and then played for defending European champions Borussia Dortmund, but didn't win anything there either. What are the chances?
