It is not very common for American players to play in the UEFA Champions League. Americans have only been regularly playing in the world’s best club competition since the mid-1990s. But which American team has won the UEFA Champions League the most?
An American player has done very well if they can get into a big European club. More than that, getting on the team sheet for a top tournament like UCL is an even bigger accomplishment. Based on how many times they played in the Champions League, these are the most successful American players in history:
Americans in the Champions League by games played
Recent stars have quickly become the most productive Americans on the European stage.
Christian Pulisic is in charge of the group. A lot more than twice as many games as the next closest player, the USMNT captain has played in the most games. His seven goals and seven assists are also the most in the competition when it comes to scoring. Pulisic has done it with Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, and now Milan, three of the biggest clubs on the continent and in three different leagues. Being a member of such big clubs when Pulisic does it makes the feat even more impressive.
The next person is Weston McKennie. With 24 games, he is alone in second place, having done it with Schalke 04 and Juventus. Meanwhile, Sergiño Dest has quickly moved up the rankings and is now tied with Jermain Jones for the most appearances with 23. Dest has played for Ajax, Barcelona, Milan, and PSV, which is the most UCL teams.
The old guard
This group of USA players, led by Jones and DeMarcus Beasley, held the fort for the first ten years or so of the 21st century. Through their time at Leverkusen, Schalke, PSV, and Rangers, they showed that Americans could play well in Europe.
On the other hand, even though players like Beas, Jones, Pulisic, and others have shown that Americans can play with the best, the UCL hasn’t had many Americans in it traditionally.
Still, Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna, both young players, look like they will continue to be in the competition. But besides those two, there aren’t many others, even if you count well-known names like Tim Howard and Gio’s dad, Claudio.
In fact, teams in places 11 through 20 of the list above have played in 54 UEFA Champions Leagues all together. By himself, Christian Pulisic is likely to reach that number by the end of the 2023–24 Group Stage in December.
The US will definitely send more players to Europe as the game keeps getting better and bigger here. Some of them will definitely make noise in the Champions League. But when it comes to making truly world-class players, we still have a ways to go before we catch up to the old dominant teams.
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