© EuroFootball.com
The organizer of the Champions League is UEFA, which recently released its 50th official magazine issue, featuring a list of the best tournament players over the past 20 years.
The selection was made by European club coaches, footballers, journalists, tournament sponsors, and registered users of the uefa.com website.
The final results should unpleasantly surprise Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who finds himself only at the beginning of the fourth ten.
The Catalonia newspaper that published this news did not spare ironic mockery for Real Madrid's leader.
"Messi humiliates Cristiano" - the headline reads. "Ronaldo, who calls himself the most beautiful, richest, and best footballer, ended up in a humble 30th place," journalists enjoyed.
Frenchman Zinedine Zidane took first place in the rankings. Lionel Messi took second place, and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez took fourth.
Two more Barcelona players are in the top fifty: Andrés Iniesta at 11th place and Carles Puyol at 21st.
UEFA Champions League Top-50:
1. Zinedine Zidane 2. Leo Messi 3. Paolo Maldini 4. Xavi 5. Raúl 6. Ryan Giggs 7. Clarence Seedorf 8. Luis Figo 9. Samuel Eto'o 10. Steven Gerrard 11. Andrés Iniesta 12. Oliver Kahn 13. Andriy Shevchenko 14. Paul Scholes 15. Javier Zanetti 16. Alessandro Del Piero 17. Iker Casillas 18. David Beckham 19. Thierry Henry 20. Ronaldo 21. Carles Puyol 22. Edwin van der Sar 23. Andrea Pirlo 24. Didier Deschamps 25. Alessandro Nesta 26. Fernando Redondo 27. Wayne Rooney 28. Frank Rijkaard 29. Kaká 30. Cristiano Ronaldo 31. Ruud van Nistelrooy 32. Roberto Carlos 33. Marcel Desailly 34. Jari Litmanen 35. Peter Schmeichel 36. Filippo Inzaghi 37. Dejan Savićević 38. Gaizka Mendieta 39. Roy Keane 40. Claude Makélélé 41. Fernando Hierro 42. Edgar Davids 43. Gianluigi Buffon 44. Steffen Effenberg 45. Ronaldinho 46. Deco 47. Lothar Matthäus 48. Frank Lampard 49. Fernando Morientes 50. Paulo Sousa
