Most Champions League Titles by Player: The Six-Title Leaders
Carvajal, Modrić, Nacho and Kroos have six Champions League titles. See why Gento joins the all-time tie and why final-appearance rankings differ.
Dani Carvajal, Luka Modrić, Nacho and Toni Kroos share the men’s Champions League record with six titles each, counting membership of a winning squad rather than requiring an appearance in the final. Include the competition’s earlier European Cup era, and Paco Gento also shares the record of six. Real Madrid’s record announcement identifies all five; UEFA’s final records retain the same leaders as of 3 November 2026.
The important distinction is titles won versus winning finals played. Under the second definition, Carvajal and Modrić lead the modern Champions League with six—not all four players.
The players with six titles
Each title below represents one victorious tournament campaign. Years refer to the year of the final, so “2024” means the 2023/24 season.
| Player | Title-winning club(s) | Winning years | Winning finals played |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dani Carvajal | Real Madrid | 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024 | 6 |
| Luka Modrić | Real Madrid | 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024 | 6 |
| Nacho | Real Madrid | 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024 | 2 |
| Toni Kroos | Bayern Munich; Real Madrid | 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024 | 5 |
| Paco Gento | Real Madrid | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966 | 6 |
Sources: Real Madrid’s winning-year breakdown and UEFA’s final-appearance counts. Gento’s six titles belong entirely to the earlier European Cup era.
Kroos is the only player in this six-title group to have won with two clubs: Bayern in 2013 and Madrid five times. Carvajal, Modrić and Nacho won all six with Madrid. Gento was the sole six-time winner from 1966 until the four modern players matched him in 2024.
Why some rankings leave out Nacho or give Kroos five
UEFA’s dedicated final-wins ranking explicitly credits a player only when he appears in the final itself. Starting or coming on counts; remaining on the bench does not. That is a narrower statistic than being part of the winning campaign.
Kroos missed Bayern’s 2013 final, leaving him with six titles but five winning-final appearances. Nacho belonged to six victorious Madrid squads but played in only the 2018 and 2024 finals. Carvajal and Modrić appeared in all six of their winning finals. UEFA explains these differences directly.
The same distinction applies below the leaders. Cristiano Ronaldo has five titles and played in all five winning finals: Manchester United in 2008, then Madrid in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Lionel Messi has four titles, all with Barcelona, but three winning-final appearances because he did not play in the 2006 decider. UEFA’s records distinguish those totals too.
What the record measures—and what it does not
This is a cumulative count of championship-winning seasons, not a win percentage: there is no matches-played denominator. It measures repeated team success across a player’s career, but does not tell you how many minutes he contributed or how decisive he was.
Use squad titles to answer “How many Champions Leagues did he win?” Use winning-final appearances to answer “How many victorious finals did he play in?” For the separate club record and every final result, see the Champions League winners by year.