The USMNT Players With the Most Champions League Appearances of All Time

Every soccer player dreams of the World Cup. But, perhaps even more prestigious and exclusive—and harder to win—is the UEFA Champions League.

It is the pinnacle of technical quality in the sport and the biggest trophy there is.

American players were once a rarity in the competition. But with more and more members of the U.S. men’s national team plying their trade with top club teams in Europe, the sight of Americans on the pitch in the Champions League has become increasingly common—particularly in the last 10 years.

Of the 26 players Mauricio Pochettino selected for the 2026 World Cup, 13 had Champions League experience at some point, while breakout defender Alex Freeman has joined that list since the tournament. Selected others have also played in the Europa League in the past.

Below are the 10 Americans who have more men’s Champions League appearances than any other.

10. Yunus Musah (19 matches)

Clubs: AC Milan, Atalanta

Yunus Musah is back in vogue with AC Milan this season, having lost his way with the Rossoneri and spending last season on loan with Atalanta. The Bronx-born midfielder has played in the Champions League for both clubs, but he won’t be adding to his 19-game tally this season after Milan’s 2025–26 collapse meant entry into the Europa League instead.

9. Tim Weah (21)

Clubs: Lille, Juventus, Marseille

Tim Weah never made it onto the pitch in the Champions League with his first club Paris Saint-Germain. But by 2021, he’d debuted on the biggest stage in club soccer with Lille, before playing a further season at Europe’s top table with Juventus. Weah was also there last season with Marseille, but the French team isn’t in the competition in 2026–27.

8. Ricardo Pepi (21)

Club: PSV Eindhoven

A 2023 transfer to PSV from Augsburg catapulted Ricardo Pepi into the Champions League, making all his appearances in the competition to date for the Dutch team. Pepi has a healthy goal tally, finding the net on average every 3.3 Champions League matches.

7. DaMarcus Beasley (22)

Clubs: PSV Eindhoven, Rangers

The 126-cap international was the first American to play in a Champions League semifinal back in 2005, when PSV were on the brink of making it to that Istanbul final to face Liverpool rather than AC Milan. DaMarcus Beasley briefly turned out for Manchester City before the club’s takeover that changed the landscape of English soccer, but did play in the Champions League again with Rangers during the 2007–08 season.

6. Jermaine Jones (23)

Clubs: Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04

Jermaine Jones switched international allegiance to the USMNT from Germany several years before he ever played club soccer on American soil. The midfielder spent most of his career in Europe, debuting in the Champions League for Bayer Leverkusen in 2004 but playing most prominently with Schalke—Jones was loaned to Blackburn Rovers during 2010–11 when the Bundesliga side unexpectedly reached the semifinals.

5. Gio Reyna (27)

Club: Borussia Dortmund

Gio Reyna is hoping to get his career back on track with Strasbourg, a team trying to upset the established order in France. His Champions League return will have to wait but, by the age of 22, the attacking midfielder had already made 22 appearances for Borussia Dortmund. Reyna had not long turned 17 when he debuted in the competition in February 2020.

4. Malik Tillman (31)

Clubs: Bayern Munich, Rangers, PSV Eindhoven, Bayer Leverkusen

Sometimes, the Champions League is a kinder environment for young players, and Malik Tillman played twice for Bayern Munich in 2021 before even making his Bundesliga debut. Subsequent spells at Rangers and PSV, two clubs that have repeatedly offered opportunities to American players, came before a transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in 2025.

3. Sergiño Dest (35)

Sergino Dest — Sergiño Dest made it to Barcelona too quickly. | David Ramos/Getty Images

Clubs: Ajax, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven

It finally feels like Sergiño Dest is finding his way again. A high-profile 2020 move to Barcelona at a very difficult point in the club’s modern history arguably came too soon. Injuries have also seen the fullback struggle at times, but PSV are now benefiting from a player with a lot of built-up resilience and a lot of soccer still ahead of him, at the age of just 25. He could be a fixture of the Champions League for a decade.

2. Weston McKennie (43)

Clubs: Schalke 04, Juventus

Since returning from a Leeds United loan in 2023, Weston McKennie has become a staple of the Juventus midfield. He debuted in the Champions League for Schalke, although that amounted to only six appearances almost a decade ago. Of 43 appearances in the competition, 19 have been in the last two seasons alone. His overall record of 11 goals is also impressive for a midfielder. Sadly for McKennie, Juve aren’t in Europe’s premier club competition this year.

1. Christian Pulisic (63)

Clubs: Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, AC Milan

The American with both the most goals (12) and appearances (63) in the Champions League is Christian Pulisic. But it feels like it could have been much more. Faced right now with winning back his place on Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT roster, he played 10 times in Europe’s top competition as an 18-year-old with Borussia Dortmund and has also turned out for two of the other Champions League heavyweights: Chelsea and AC Milan.

He became the first American to play in a men’s Champions League final when the Blues defeated Manchester City back in 2021.

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