Harry Kane’s quest for a first major trophy might have to wait a little longer, with his Bayern Munich side currently eight points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and having lost their Champions League round of 16 first leg to Lazio.
The England striker still has plenty of time left to win a trophy in his career and chances are he probably will before he retires, but his ongoing trophy drought got us thinking about who the best players are to never win a major trophy in their careers.
Here are four brilliant talents who could not get their hands on major honours…
Antonio Di Natale
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Udinese legend spent 12 years at the club between 2004 and 2016, where he scored 227 goals in 446 games but failed to win a major trophy in a career spanning 20 years. The closest he got to winning one was reaching the Euro 2012 final with Italy, which the Italians lost 4-0 to a legendary Spain side which included Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos. The forward won the Italian Football of the Year award in 2010 and was also Serie A’s Golden Boot winner in 2009/10 and 2010/11 with 29 and 28 goals respectively, but never won a major trophy despite his individual brilliance.
Socrates
Embed from Getty ImagesOne of the all-time Brazillian greats somehow finished his career without ever winning a major trophy. Socrates played 60 times for his national side, scoring 22 goals, and played in two World Cups but only managed to make the quarter-finals. He came closer in the Copa America, finishing as a runner-up in 1983 and in third place in 1979 but the only silverware he managed to win were a handful of regional titles in Brazil with Botafogo, Corinthians and Flamengo. His individual honours were much more impressive, being named South American Footballer of the Year in 1983 and making the Fifa 100 list back in 2004.
Matt Le Tissier
Embed from Getty ImagesA similar story to Di Natale – another brilliant footballer who, instead of deciding to chase honours at a bigger club, opted to stay with his boyhood side Southampton for his entire top-flight career, scoring 161 top division goals for the club, 101 of which came after the introduction of the Premier League. He made the PFA Team of the Year in the 1994-95 season, when he also finished with the most assists in the league. No doubt Le Tissier could have won a major trophy had he opted to move on from Southampton but his loyalty to the south-coast side has to be admired.
Giuseppe Signori
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Italian striker scored more than 250 goals in his career and won the Serie A Golden Boot three times with Lazio, where he scored 127 times in 195 games. He also had spells at Sampdoria and then Bologna, playing more than 175 times for the latter and scoring 84 goals. He won Serie B with Foggia and Serie C1 with Piacenza but never managed to get his hands on one of the big trophies during his time in Serie A or for Italy, featuring in the national squad which made the final of the 1994 World Cup, when they lost out to Brazil.
