Reaching the pinnacle of the game is the dream of every aspiring footballer and those fortunate enough to make it to the very top are the most likely to win silverware. At least, that is generally what happens.
Sometimes no matter how hard a player tries, though, the quest to land a major domestic title is ultimately a fruitless one; perhaps due to the lack of quality teammates around them, a unique sense of loyalty to their employers or in some cases, just rotten bad luck.
All three of the above factors can be applied to Steven Gerrard who, despite going close on a couple of occasions, was unable to captain his treasured Liverpool to a Premier League title.
The former England captain is far from the only world class player to not be crowned a league champion as there are plenty of others who have fallen just short of adding that particular honour to their CV.
Below are 10 world class players who, despite their best efforts, are yet to be part of a title-winning side.
1. Marek Hamsik
Age: 31
Clubs represented: Slovan Bratislava, Brescia, Napoli
League apps: 480
The Slovakian playmaker has had to watch stars such as Ezequiel Lavezzi, Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain leave Napoli to win titles elsewhere but he has so far stayed extremely loyal to the cause with 2018/19 representing his twelfth season at the club.
During over a decade’s service, Napoli have flirted with winning a first Serie A title since the Diego Maradona glory days in the 1980s but second place is the closest they have come.
2. Antoine Griezmann
Age: 27
Clubs represented: Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid
League apps: 346
In his first full season, Antoine Griezmann scored six goals in 39 games as Real Sociedad won the Segunda Division and over the next four seasons he played a key role in establishing the club as a top-half side in Spain’s top-flight.
So good were the Frenchman’s performances, Atletico Madrid saw fit to sign him as Chelsea-bound Diego Costa’s replacement following their improbable La Liga triumph in 2013/14, but so far Griezmann has finished third on three occasions for Los Colchoneros, while last season they finished second.
3. Marco Reus
Age: 29
Clubs represented: Rot Weiss Ahlen, Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund
League apps: 301
After failing to make the grade as a youth team player at Borussia Dortmund, Marco Reus returned home in 2012 after shooting to prominence while playing for an overachieving Monchengladbach side.
BVB had just won back-to-back Bundesliga titles when Reus joined, but as Bayern Munich began flexing their financial muscle, winning another title has proven to be an impossible task.
Reus will be even more desperate to land a first major title as he now skippers his beloved Dortmund.
4. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Age: 29
Clubs represented: Saint-Etienne, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal
League apps: 336
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang spent his first four seasons in professional football with AC Milan back when the Italian giants were still competitive. However, he failed to make a single first-team appearance before leaving for Saint-Etienne in 2011.
While with Les Verts, Aubameyang exploded into life becoming one of the most feared strikers in Europe which led to a switch to Borussia Dortmund in 2013, with whom he failed to win the Bundesliga. Now at Arsenal, the Gabonese international will be hoping that Unai Emery can guide the north London club to domestic dominance.
5. Laurent Koscielny
Age: 33
Clubs represented: Guingamp, Tours, Lorient, Arsenal
League apps: 356
After spending his first few years in Ligue 2, Laurent Koscielny stepped up into Ligue 1 to sign Lorient in 2009 and after one outstanding season with them, he earned a dream move to Arsenal.
Since arriving at the Emirates, Koscielny has won two FA Cups but the Gunners wait for a Premier League title now spans 15 years since their incredible Invincibles campaign in 2003/04.
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6. Daniele de Rossi
Age: 35
Clubs represented: Roma
League apps: 452
A big shame, really. Like Francesco Totti before him, Daniele de Rossi has shown incredible loyalty to his beloved Roma down the years despite winning only two Coppa Italia titles during his distinguished career with the club.
Roma have always been competing towards the top end of the table with De Rossi being part of a side that finished as runners-up in Serie A on eight occasions, but they found Inter and now Juventus, too difficult to topple in that time.
He has won a World Cup, though, so don’t feel too sorry for him.
7. Fernando Torres
Age: 34
Clubs represented: Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea, Milan, Sagan Tosu
League apps: 560
Fernando Torres hasn’t had a bad career all things considered. When El Niño comes to the end of his career and he can look back fondly over two European Championships successes, a Champions League and a World Cup amongst others. Not bad going.
Somewhat incredibly, though, Torres has never been part of a side that has lifted a domestic title and the closest he came was during his Liverpool days when the Reds were beaten to the punch by Manchester United in 2009 despite losing only two games all season. He’ll be hoping that changes in Japan with Sagan Tosu.
8. Dimitri Payet
Age: 31
Clubs represented: AS Excelsior, Nantes, Saint-Etienne, Lille, Marseille, West Ham
League apps: 454
Perhaps unsurprisingly given he has only truly blossomed into an elite performer in the last few years, Dimitri Payet is yet to win a league championship.
Payet joined Lille in 2011 just after Eden Hazard, Gervinho et al had inspired them to a surprise league victory but the arrival of the Qatari millions at PSG made it infinitely harder for clubs like Lille and Marseille – who he joined in 2013 before returning three years later after a brief spell at West Ham – to win the top flight.
9. Hugo Lloris
Age: 32
Clubs represented: Nice, Lyon, Tottenham Hotspur
League apps: 458
France’s captain Hugo Lloris has only a solitary French Cup success on his club CV as he joined Lyon from Nice just as their iron grip on Ligue 1 began to disintegrate. Of course, he is a World Cup winning captain now, which is a pretty big silver lining.
No honours have yet been forthcoming since he moved to Tottenham in 2012 but having penned a new deal at White Hart Lane until 2022, Lloris must be hopeful of ending that drought in North London.
10. Juan Mata
Age: 30
Clubs represented: Real Madrid Castilla, Valencia, Chelsea, Manchester United
League apps: 406
A product of Real Madrid’s esteemed academy, Mata was not quite able to break into the first-team and eventually found himself at Valencia where he won the Copa del Rey in his first season.
After four productive years at the Mestalla, Mata moved to Chelsea in 2011 and quickly established himself as an integral part of the team, before heading up north to sign with Manchester United. And despite playing for two of England’s most decorated sides, a Premier League trophy has so far eluded Mata.
The post From Antoine Griezmann to Marco Reus: 10 top-class players yet to win a league title appeared first on Squawka News.
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