Players to win the World Cup and Champions League in the same season

Winning the World Cup is a dream for every footballer. It is so hard to win this international top prize. Equally, the Champions League is regarded as the top domestic prize and the trophy all top players dream of lifting proudly during their careers. It's not that simple. The Champions League is a tireless campaign consisting of a group stage and high-pressure knockout rounds against some of the biggest clubs in world football. On the other side, World Cup only happens once every four years, so the chances of winning it are even less than being successful in Europe's premier club competition.

After lifting the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar back in December, the 23 years old Manchester City striker Julián Álvarez became the 10th player to win the two most prestigious prizes in football in the same season. He booked his place in history as the first player to win a treble of the European Cup, League, Domestic Cup, and World Cup in the same season.

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Players to win the World Cup and Champions League in the same season

Sepp Maier – 1974

One of six individuals who did it together in 1974, Maier represented West Germany at four consecutive World Cups. He won the third one on home soil off the back of lifting the European Cup with Bayern Munich a few months earlier.

Sepp Maier was the first-choice goalkeeper and at the very peak of his powers as West Germany managed a sensational 2-1 victory over the Netherlands just after helping Bayern to a third consecutive European crown by seeing off Atletico Madrid.

Paul Breitner – 1974

Breitner scored from the penalty spot after 25 minutes to get his country back on level terms in the final, having fallen behind just two minutes into the game. A versatile left-back who could also slot into midfield, Breitner was a part of the Bayern squad that lifted the European Cup in 1974 but left that same year to sign for Real Madrid after the triumph.

Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck – 1974

It was Schwarzenbeck's equaliser against Atletico in the dying embers of extra time that pushed Bayern on to win the cup in the replay. An iconic defender and another one-club man, Schwarzenbeck doubled down on that domestic success by playing a key role in West Germany's World Cup win, two years after winning Euro 1972.

Franz Beckenbauer – 1974

A man who needs no introduction, Beckenbauer was the inspiration for the ball-playing central defenders in today's game. Capped 104 times for West Germany, he won the European Championships in 1972 and the World Cup in the same year as captain of the team. If that wasn't enough, he then went and won the World Cup with West Germany again in 1990, this time as a manager.

Gerd Müller – 1974

Gerd Müller was so good at finding the back of the net. 68 goals in 62 appearances for his country, 365 in 427 Bundesliga appearances with Bayern, but perhaps the most important of all of those came against the Netherlands in 1974. Muller bagged the winning goal after 43 minutes, his fourth at the tournament, and then he scored in the replay of the European Cup final.

Uli Hoeness – 1974

Hoeness unfortunately is remembered for fouling Johan Cruyff from kick-off in the 1974 final, which allowed the Netherlands to take an early lead. It didn't matter in the end, though, with Hoeness always being able to say he won the World Cup and European Cup in the same year.

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Christian Karembeu – 1998

Born on the island of New Caledonia with a population of around just 238,000 people, Karembou moved to France at the age of 17 to study and play football, which changed his life forever. He began at Nantes and then moved to Sampdoria in 1995. He spent two years in Italy before being snapped up by Real Madrid, where he would win the Champions League in 1998, before playing four matches and winning the 1998 World Cup in France.

Roberto Carlos – 2002

One of the best fullbacks in the world, the Brazilian scored the winning goal in the 2002 Champions League final, before playing a key role in Japan and South Korea for his country in the World Cup. He became the eighth player to lift the Champions League & FIFA World Cup in the same season.

Raphael Varane – 2018

Varane was among the nominees for the Best Young Player award at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He returned with the World Cup trophy four years later, also with three more Champions League titles under his belt. The central defender would play every single minute of football for France in 2018, off the back of winning his fourth Champions League with Real Madrid, playing a key role as Les Bleus won the competition for only the second time.

Julián Álvarez - 2022-23

Julián Álvarez became the tenth and the most recent player to achieve that rare feat. He won the World Cup with Argentina after defeating France in the Final. Álvarez netted four goals during the 2022 World Cup and finished as the third top scorer at the 2022 World Cup. He finished the season as City's second top scorer with 17 goals, despite starting fewer than half their games.

City won the Premier League title by five points from Arsenal, beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final, and defeated Inter Milan in the Champions League final after Argentina beat France in the World Cup final in December. Alvarez did not get on the pitch in their 1-0 win over Inter in Istanbul but still got his hands on the trophy afterward.