Top 20 revealed 

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The Champions League is getting to crunch time. Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have already booked their places in the last four, with Arsenal taking on Sporting at the Emirates tonight with a one goal advantage and Real Madrid needing to turn things around in Germany against Bayern Munich after suffering a 2-1 defeat at the Santiago Bernábeu. Across the decades, some players have become synonymous with the Champions League and reaching the latter stages, but which stars have made the most semi-finals in the competition’s history? Let’s find out.

Players to make the most Champions League semi-finals

Players that are on the same number have been ranked by the most recent semi-finalist. Leading the way is former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema; the Frenchman has been to an incredible 11 Champions League semi-finals – the last of which was in the 2022/23 season. In second is the competition’s all-time top goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo. The legendary Portuguese forward has also been to 11 semi-finals, but the last of which came in the 2017/18 campaign.

Real Madrid-based dominance continues in third with Toni Kroos having made it to the last four on 10 occasions. His countryman Thomas Müller shares fourth place with his former Los Blancos teammates, Dani Carvajal and Luka Modrić – all three have been to nine semi-finals and the last of which was the 2023/24 season. Midfielder Thiago Alcántara and full-back Marcelo have both been to nine semi-finals – most recently in the 2021/22 season.

Meanwhile, defender Sergio Ramos has also been to nine Champions League semi-finals, but not since the 2020/21 season. Xabi Alonso also made it to nine – the last of which was in 2015/16 – whilst fellow Spanish duo Iker Casillas and Xavi went to nine, but last in the 2014/15 campaign. A further eight players have it to eight semi-finals. Among the top 10, only Carvajal or Neuer can climb the list this season if their team’s progress.