The 7 Champions League winners currently playing in the MLS: Messi, Suarez…
Major League Soccer still has a long way to go, but the fact it now boasts several Champions League winners among its already talented league is testament to its progress.
Europe’s premier players have long seen the United States’ de-facto top-flight as the ideal league to wind down in while earning one more big paycheque, but with the quality increasing, so too are the imports.
The MLS is currently home to as many as seven players who have won the UEFA Champions League. Read on to find out who.
Lionel Messi
The obvious one, Messi’s move to MLS in 2023 was seismic, turning down the unfathomable riches of Saudi Arabia to sign for Inter Miami after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi has won the UEFA Champions League four times, is the second-highest scorer in the competition’s history, has the most group stage goals and the most goals for one club in the competition.
He’s yet to fire Inter Miami to anything beyond the Leagues Cup, but there’s still time for that to change.
Luis Suarez
Reuniting with his old pal ahead of the 2024 season, Suarez was seeing out his career in Brazil before an interesting opportunity presented itself.
The band had gotten back together up in Miami and he wanted a slice. Winning the Champions League once, Suarez scored seven goals in 10 Champions League games in 2014-15 as Barcelona won the treble.
READ: Comparing Lionel Messi’s exceptional MLS record with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s
Sergio Busquets
We’re not out of the Barcelona-themed woods yet. Sorry. A month before Messi arrived at the club in July, Busquets was confirmed as an Inter Miami player. The first and perhaps most important piece of the jigsaw in terms of tempting the Argentine to the East Coast.
Winning the Champions League on three separate occasions with La Blaugrana in 2009, 2011 and 2015, the Spanish midfielder has been a revelation at Miami and absolutely key in their on-pitch transformation.
Just as European football finally appeared to be slightly beyond his body’s limits, the MLS has proven perfect for what he’s got left in the tank.
Jordi Alba
It’s a similar story for Alba, who left Barcelona in the same summer and joined Inter Miami a month after Busquets and Messi.
He’s enjoyed a big return to form since moving Stateside, managing seven goals and 17 assists so far from 51 games. Now 35, he’s probably not got much left in the tank, although we’d imagine he’ll stick around for at least another year.
Olivier Giroud
Giroud had to wait a while to finally get his hands on European football’s top prize, but it finally came in 2021 when Chelsea beat Manchester City, the Frenchman watching from the bench.
He signed for Milan shortly after and immediately helped them to a first Scudetto in a decade, adding another chapter to his already illustrious career before swapping Milan for Los Angeles in May 2024, signing for LAFC.
It’s been a tame start in the United States, however, with Giroud failing to score a goal in 10 regular season MLS games or the four play-off ties before their MLS Cup exit.
READ NEXT: 9 world-class players who never won the MLS Cup playoffs: Rooney, Zlatan…
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every club to win the MLS Cup?
Martin Caceres
Onto the more overlooked names, Caceres’ CV is a long one but boasts stints at just about everywhere from Barcelona to Southampton.
Best known for his three spells with Juventus – winning six Scudetti in the process – it was with Barcelona where the defender got his hands on the Champions League in 2009.
The Uruguayan joined LA Galaxy in 2022 and has made 42 appearances for the club, but has no silverware to show for it.
Asier Illarramendi
Known best at this point for David Moyes butchering his name in a press conference at Real Sociedad, Illarramendi was a part of the Real Madrid squad that won the Champions League in 2014 before that transfer.
Starting at La Real, he returned in 2015 and remained with the club until 2023 when he signed for FC Dallas. Unfortunately, Illarra and Dallas have endured a disappointing campaign which saw them finish 11th in the Western Conference, outside of the play-off spots.