Fifty nations can now lay claim to a European Cup-winning player following Liverpool’s 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in Madrid.
Two more countries joined the list after the final whistle in the Spanish capital, with goalscorer Mohamed Salah adding Egypt to the club and Sadio Mané playing a breakthrough role for Senegal. Indeed, Salah is also just the fifth African player to find the net in a final, after Mané became the fourth last season.
Reds team-mate Naby Keïta of Guinea missed out through injury, however, meaning he – like unused Spurs substitute Victor Wanyama of Kenya – were unable to become the very first players from their countries to feature in a European Cup decider.
Since the first final in 1956, 1,066 players representing 63 nations have featured in a showpiece game (many more than once). Italy have the most different finalists (147), one more than Spain – who did not add to their total after Liverpool defender Alberto Moreno stayed on the bench in Madrid. Spurs’ lone Spaniard, Fernando Llorente, had already featured in a decider, losing with Juventus in 2015.
Number of players (by nation) who have appeared in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League final
147: Italy
146: Spain
130: Germany
82: England
80: France
63: Netherlands
62: Portugal
54: Brazil
38: Scotland
30: Argentina
26: Serbia
24: Sweden
22: Romania
16: Belgium
14: Denmark
13: Croatia
12: Greece*
11: Republic of Ireland
6: Poland
5: Ghana
5: Ivory Coast
5: Uruguay
5: Wales
4: Czech Republic
4: Hungary
4: Norway
3: Austria
3: Nigeria
3: North Macedonia
3: Slovenia*
3: Turkey*
2: Bosnia and Herzegovina
2: Bulgaria
2: Finland
2: Mali
2: Mexico
2: Northern Ireland
2: South Africa
2: Switzerland
2: Ukraine
2: Cameroon
2: Korea Republic
1: Algeria (Rabah Madjer, winner Porto 1987)
1: Angola* (Vata, runner-up Benfica 1990)
1: Australia (Harry Kewell, winner Liverpool 2005)
1: Belarus* (Aleksandr Hleb, runner-up Arsenal 2006)
1: Chile* (Arturo Vidal, runner-up, Juventus 2015)
1: Colombia* (Juan Cuadrado, runner-up Juventus 2017)
1: Costa Rica (Keylor Navas, winner Real Madrid 2016, 2017 & 2018)
1: DR Congo* (Shabani Nonda, runner-up Monaco 2004)
1: Ecuador* (Antonio Valencia, runner-up Manchester United 2011)
1: Egypt (Mohamed Salah, winner Liverpool 2019)
1: Gabon* (Mario Lemina, runner-up Juventus 2017)
1: Georgia (Kakha Kaladze, winner AC Milan 2003 & 2007)
1: Montenegro* (Stefan Savić, runner-up Atlético Madrid 2016)
1: Morocco* (Hajry Redouane, runner-up Benfica 1988)
1: Paraguay* (Domingo Benegas, runner-up Atlético Madrid 1974)
1: Peru (Víctor Benítez, winner AC Milan 1963)
1: Russia (Dmitri Alenichev, winner Porto 2004)
1: San Marino (Massimo Bonini, winner Juventus 1985)
1: Senegal (Sadio Mané, winner Liverpool 2019)
1: Trinidad & Tobago (Dwight Yorke, winner Manchester United 1999)
1: Zimbabwe (Bruce Grobbelaar, winner Liverpool 1984)
*nations who have had a player appear in the final but not a winner