The UEFA Champions League, the biggest club competition in the sport, is underway for its 2024-25 season. Throughout the years, 29 Mexican players have competed in the UEFA Champions League.
A 30th name won’t be added to the list this season unless a January transfer move sees a Mexican player join Santiago Giménez and Hirving Lozano as the lone representatives of the country for this campaign.
With no new names added to the list, here's a look at the five best Mexican players to feature in the Champions League.
5. Hirving Lozano - Napoli, PSV Eindhoven
“El Chucky” made his move to Europe prior to the 2017/18 season. His good years at PSV culminated in a move to Serie A, where prior to the 19/20 season, Napoli broke its transfer record fee at the time, paying €42 million for the Mexican winger.
In total, Lozano has 32 Champions League caps between PSV and Napoli with six goals and two assists. His biggest moment in the competition came in the 22/23 season when Napoli made it to the quarterfinals, a feat not even 10 Mexican players have accomplished.
4. Hector Herrera - Porto, Atlético Madrid
The second name on this list, the second player to come out of C.F. Pachuca. Hector Herrera played in Europe for nine seasons and he saw Champions League action in every single one. Between Porto and Atlético Madrid, Herrera enjoyed one of the longest European careers for a Mexican player.
He holds the record for most appearances by a Mexican in the CL with 52 games, accumulating 13 G/A. The silky midfielder had a solid run in Europe, and his almost decade-long experience competing at the highest level in soccer puts him firmly on this list.
3. Javier Hernández - Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen
“Chicharito” became an international household name ever since he first stepped foot in Europe with Manchester United ahead of the 2010/11 season. During his decade-long run in Europe, Chicharito scored over 100 goals, playing for five different teams.
The Mexican National Team all time top goalscorer had his fair share of success in the champions league. A brace against Chelsea in the 10/11 quarterfinals and the game-winning goal in the dying minutes of the Madrid derby to secure a place in the semifinal for Real Madrid in the 2014/15 season stand out.
Overall, Chicharito scored 14 goals in 46 Champions League games between 2010 and 2017. During that time, only 19 players born outside of Europe scored more goals in the competition. He started in a Champions League Final during his first season with United, but fell in Wembley to one of the greatest club teams of all time in Pep Guardiola’s, Barcelona.
2. Hugo Sánchez - Real Madrid
If we’re talking about all competitions, Hugo Sánchez is the greatest Mexican soccer player of all time. The striker won five golden boots in Spain, and is the seventh all-time top scorer for Real Madrid. Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have more goals for “Los Blancos” counting non Spanish players.
The Champions League as we know it didn’t exist back in the '80s when “El Macho” was one of the best strikers in Europe. However, he excelled in what back then was called the European Cup, the old version of the UCL which was straight into elimination games from the start.
“Hugol” scored 17 goals in just 27 games in the competition across five seasons, but he failed to ever reach a final–let alone lift a trophy–for the team that’s become synonymous with Champions League glory.
1. Rafael Márquez - AS Monaco, FC Barcelona
“El Kaiser” is the only Mexican player–apart from Jonathan Dos Santos in 2011 who played in one group stage game–to ever win the Champions League... and he did it twice.
Márquez had a storied career in Europe, taking part in 45 Champions League games. He is best known for his time with Barcelona. In his seven years with the club, “Rafita” won all there was to be won.
He first conquered Europe in the 2005/06 season. He played in eight games (started them all) including the final against Arsenal that Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona won 2-1 after a controversial red card sent Jens Lehmann off.
In the 2008/09 campaign, Márquez continued to be a regular during Pep Guardiola’s first season at the club. He started nine games in the CL before a knee injury kept him out of the final. Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 in Rome, en route to the club’s historic “Sextete,” the season where they won all six competitions they played in.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Top Five Mexican Players in UEFA Champions League History.
