Kylian Mbappe scored both goals as Real Madrid earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over Marseille in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.The Frenchman’s quest to win a first Champions League trophy began with three points, as Mbappe looks to win the prize that has eluded him in his career to date. Despite a prolific record in the competition, Mbappe is yet to win the Champions League, with a 2020 final defeat with Paris Saint-Germain the closest he has come.The forward is not the only player to light up the Champions League without winning it, and we’ve ranked the five highest-scoring players never to win the trophy.5. Sergio Aguero (41)Sergio Aguero netted 41 goals in the Champions League, with the bulk of his return coming during a record-breaking career at Manchester City. Aguero became City’s all-time leading scorer during a decorated decade at the Etihad, with his record-setting goal arriving in the Champions League against Napoli.Despite his goal record, Aguero never got his hands on the big prize. He was a part of the Citizens’ side beaten by Chelsea in the 2021 decider, and departed that summer.Harry Kane (40) needs just one more goal to break into this list. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});4. Antoine Griezmann (42)Antoine Griezmann has 42 goals in the Champions League and counting, but has never won the competition.Griezmann was twice a beaten finalist with Atletico Madrid, memorably missing a penalty in the 2016 final defeat to Real Madrid.3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (48)Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the only player to score in the Champions League with six teams: Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. He also represented another former winner, Manchester United, but never won the trophy.Ibrahimovic never played in a Champions League final, with his exit from Inter Milan a sliding doors moment. The Swede left to join a Barcelona side that had won the Champions League the previous season, only for Inter to win the trophy – eliminating Ibrahimovic and Barcelona in the semi-finals – the following campaign.2. Ruud van Nistelrooy (56)Ruud van Nistelrooy was arguably the Champions League’s premier marksman during his peak. The Dutchman was the competition’s leading scorer three times in four seasons between 2002 and 2005, spearheading Manchester United’s challenge in Europe.Van Nistelrooy’s record of 56 goals in 73 games equates to 0.77 goals per game, a ratio that matches Cristiano Ronaldo’s record in the Champions League.United reached the semi-finals in his debut season at Old Trafford, but lost to Bayer Leverkusen on away goals. Van Nistelrooy also spent three seasons with Real Madrid but the Spanish side did not progress past the last 16 in that time. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});1. Kylian Mbappe (57)Mbappe’s double against Marseille means he is now the highest-scoring player in Champions League history never to win the trophy.The Frenchman is now joint-fifth among the all-time top scorers in European Cup/Champions League history, having moved level with Thomas Muller this week.Mbappe moved to Real Madrid last summer in a bid to end his wait for Champions League success and will hope 2025/26 is the season he achieves that goal.Read – The managers with the most Champions League campaignsSee more – Champions League: Five youngsters to look out for this seasonFollow The Football Faithful on Social Media:Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTokThe post The top Champions League scorers never to win the trophy first appeared on The Football Faithful.