Take a deep dive into football nostalgia & recall the best days of English football by reading our list of the five greatest players in Premier League history.
The English Premier League is widely considered the most popular, entertaining, and competitive club football league in the world. Players come from all around the world to sign for teams that compete for the trophy, along with other honours.
Whether you are following the Premier League for online sports betting or through a love of the game, you have likely wondered about the best players to grace this competition. There are countless debates on the topic, as many of the picks are subjective.
There are so many incredible footballers that have participated in the Premier League that even a top 20 list would not be able to include them all. That being said, we have come up with our list of the five greatest footballers to play in the Premier League.
1. Alan Shearer
The undisputed leader in this list is also the man who has the most Premier League goals in history. Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has scored more goals in this competition than any other player.
Not only did he win the English First Division with Blackburn Rovers, but he eventually transferred to his boyhood club Newcastle and lit up the league for nearly a decade.
Shearer was a classic centre-forward who had it all. He could bring the ball down with a single touch, link up the play with his teammates, rifle a shot into the back of the net from any angle, and score bullet headers.
While a knee injury did somewhat derail his career, Shearer came back from a year’s absence to show that he had not lost any of the instincts that made him such a great striker.
2. Thierry Henry
A living legend for France and Arsenal, Thierry Henry is the second man in our list of the best ever Premier League players. Henry signed for Arsenal in the mid-1990s and went on to become one of the most versatile and speedy attackers on the planet.
While he started his career as a left-winger, Henry was eventually moulded into a centre-forward by manager Arsène Wenger. The legendary coach saw Henry’s potential through the middle, and the striker never looked back.
He is the leading scorer in Arsenal’s history, while he helped the Gunners to win the Premier League and FA Cup double on two occasions. While Henry could never lift the Champions League with Arsenal, he will always be remembered as one of the most fearsome attackers the league ever saw.
Henry’s legendary goal against rivals Tottenham, when he dribbled through nearly the entire team from the halfway line before scoring, is still one of the best goals you will ever see.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
If this list were about the best footballers of the current generation, Cristiano Ronaldo would be at the very top. Given the list is regarding the greatest Premier League players, Ronaldo has to settle for the third spot in our rankings.
The Portuguese and Manchester United star got his career going at Sporting Lisbon before transferring to United as a teenager. He took a couple of years to find his feet at Old Trafford before exploding around 2006 and becoming one of the most fearsome wingers on the planet.
Ronaldo’s best years at United came from 2006 to 2009, when he helped the team win three straight Premier League titles, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Champions League.
What stops Ronaldo from being at the top spot in this list is that he transferred to Real Madrid before hitting his peak, helping Los Blancos to win four Champions League titles and two La Liga crowns during his time at the club.
4. Steven Gerrard
A Liverpool legend and one club man who never wavered in his desire to represent the team he grew up supporting, Steven Gerrard was a one-man show for so long in his career. Gerrard was not always surrounded by the best quality teammates during his Liverpool playing days, but he always knew how to rise to the occasion.
Gerrard is the only footballer on this list that did not win the Premier League or English First Division title, but he made up for it by helping the team to lift the Champions League in 2005. He was also single-handedly responsible for their FA Cup triumph in 2006 when he scored two of the best long-range goals you would ever see to help them defeat West Ham United in the final.
Now the head coach at Aston Villa, Gerrard has already seen success as a manager in Scotland with Rangers. Many Liverpool fans believe he will one day return to manage his boyhood club.
5. Sergio Aguero
A recent departure from Manchester City, Sergio Aguero was one of the club’s most consistent goalscorers from 2011 to 2020. Aguero arrived from Atlético Madrid with a big reputation and for a hefty fee, but he justified the money spent on him immediately.
A hat-trick in one of his first games for City showed the fans what he was all about. Lightning quick, very strong, and with the ability to score from any angle and either foot, Aguero was often at the top of the scoring charts for Premier League seasons during his time at the club.
The only reason why he is not higher on our list, despite winning several Premier League titles, is his injury history. Aguero often missed chunks of games over the years, mostly due to hamstring and thigh problems. If he had been available more often, he would have likely gone down as the greatest Premier League forward ever.