Ranked! The 100 best Premier League players ever

75. Claude Makelele

Real Madrid’s incredible short-sightedness in letting Makelele – ranked at no.30 in FourFourTwo's list of their greatest-ever players – leave in 2003 was not just a retrospective criticism.

He had an entire role named after him. But Makelele had been hailed as the unsung hero of the side so many times, he was decidedly sung.

As Zinedine Zidane put it: “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?”

But Real’s stupidity was Chelsea’s gain. Newly acquired by Roman Abramovich, the club were in the early days of transitioning from a sexy little cup team into a Premier League powerhouse at the time. Makelele was a key part of that: a roaming Roomba of a man, cleaning up with little to no fuss.

A metronomic destroyer first for Claudio Ranieri and then for Jose Mourinho, Makelele’s place in the tightest defence the Premier League has ever seen in 2004/05 – one of two back-to-back titles he won at the club – should not be overlooked.

74. David De Gea

Another who was perhaps unfairly looked upon towards the end of his Premier League career, David De Gea is still widely considered one of the best goalkeepers to have ever played for Manchester United.

That De Gea won just one top-flight crown with the Red Devils during a tumultuous career in the northwest was hardly his fault. The Spaniard had shot-stopping abilities like no other, often pulling off outrageous saves he had no sheer right to get to.

Take his Premier League display for Manchester United against Arsenal in 2017, for example, ranked at no.47 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest individual performances of all time. It just might be the best 90 minutes a goalkeeper has ever completed in the division.

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He waned towards the end. But don't we all? His treatment from Erik ten Hag and the club he gave so much to, too, still leaves a bitter taste in most Manchester United fans mouths.

Especially given he won the Golden Glove award before being allowed to leave for free just a few months later. De Gea is one United star who may well earn respect in hindsight.

73. Joe Hart

Two-time Premier League winner Joe Hart would leave you breathless at times, with his cat-like reflexes in goal easily earning the former Manchester City man the title of best English goalkeeper of his era.

Hart burst onto the scene in 2010/11 and by the end of his time at the Etihad Stadium, he had claimed a whopping four Premier League Golden Glove awards. Later frozen out by Pep Guardiola and his sweeper-keeper obsession, Hart’s ability to be quick off his line and seize upon danger was a key asset to his game and most will remember his remarkable save against Manchester United to deny Wayne Rooney back in 2008.

All in all, he should be remembered far more fondly.

72. Sadio Mane

After arriving from Red Bull Salzburg back in 2014, Sadio Mane was an unknown entity with Southampton shelling out a fee of only £11.8 million for him. What transpired was a super spell with the Saints before his breathtaking pace and keen eye for goal meant Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp came calling.

Mane would go on to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s most underrated forwards, banging in all sorts of goals for the Reds, none more importantly than the 18 he scored as Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for a top-flight crown back in 2019/20.

A true modern-day great and one of the best African footballers ever.

71. Luka Modric

Tottenham pulled off a coup snapping up Modric before his starring role for Croatia at Euro 2008 – and the then-club record £16.5m fee they paid Dinamo Zagreb was was worth the expense.

After some initial struggles with a knee injury, doubts about his ability to deal with the Premier League’s physicality, and being played out of position, Modric hit his stride. Plenty of playmakers get by without being asked to do the less glamorous side of the game, but Modric combined it all into one faultlessly hard-working and talented package.

His move to a club like Real Madrid was inevitable, and they, too, got a massive bargain despite almost doubling the fee Spurs had paid for him. The rest is history – and his longevity is incredible, having played in four World Cups for Croatia and won six Champions League titles.

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Had he stayed in the Premier League longer than four years, he would be in with an extremely serious shout of being considered its greatest-ever midfielder. As it is, he's just one of modern Spurs' greatest.

Not bad for a lad whose own team-mates doubted him at the start.

70. Bernardo Silva

Throughout Pep Guardiola's reinventions of Manchester City, one man has remained the general.

It’s hard to talk about Bernardo the way one would a David Ginola or a Ryan Giggs. That’s because the more systematised vision of football Guardiola has implemented at the Etihad to such great effect over his years at City calls for fewer specialists and more all-rounders, even in positions that were previously so reliant on individual brilliance as the wings.

And there Bernardo Silva has been through it all, practically immovable from the side throughout. The Portuguese is practically the model Manchester City winger, if not the blueprint for young wingers coming through at academies around the world: less about mercurial moments, and more about being able to do a bit of everything incredibly capably for the good of the team.

But nobody could say that Bernardo was lacking in those moments of magic: his goals and assists records are neck and neck, with many of those goals having a touch of the spectacular.

He dragged City to a title without De Bruyne. He played up front in Aguero's absence. He replaced David Silva's metronomic presence, played right-wing in the Treble season – even featured at left-back, once, in a title clash against Arsenal. It's easier to pick out things Bernardo Silva can't do.

69. Jermain Defoe

As clinical as they come in front of goal, Jermain Defoe epitomised what it meant to be a natural finisher and is still ranked 10th in the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorers.

Defoe also holds the record for the most goals scored as a substitute, with 24, with his clinical eye for goal marking a valiant place on our list – and beyond the pitch, Jermain’s touching relationship with Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery will live long in the memory, with the England international summing up what it meant to be a gent both on and off the pitch for clubs such as Spurs, Portsmouth and West Ham United.

68. Ederson

Eyebrows were raised when Pep Guardiola first dropped Joe Hart.

But while Claudio Bravo was clearly not the answer, his successor was. Ederson has been one constant who's never looked close to replacement in all six of Pep's title wins.

The epitome of a 21st-century goalkeeper who can do it all, it is almost unthinkable that anybody else could have been the no.1 through their phenomenal successes over the past few years. And not just for his phenomenal ability with his feet (Ederson once boasted to FFT that he could have played in midfield, had he have wanted).

The Brazilian’s reliability between the sticks, willingness to sweep up as required, and incredible passing ability have made him the perfect fit for City from day one.

It will surprise nobody that he holds the all-time Premier League record for most assists by a goalkeeper. But while he's often lauded for what he does with the ball at his feet, the custodian is underrated at times for his ability to keep clean sheets.

Ederson has won virtually everything there is to win since arriving at Manchester City in 2017, and you don't do that without some degree of shot-stopping brilliant. His safe hands have helped to earn him the Golden Glove for most clean sheets three times – the joint most of anybody since the award was introduced in 2005.

67. Matt Le Tissier

The first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League, Le Tissier was blessed with incredible technical ability, a foot like a traction engine, and an eye for finding the net from even the most improbable distances.

And Le Tissier has been quite up front about the fact that he could have gone on to bigger things if had been a bit more ambitious and a bit less fond of living something of a throwback lifestyle.

That was all Southampton’s gain, of course. Through much of his 16-year career with the club, Le Tissier was the Saints’ undisputed star.

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His ability back in the days when he did all his talking on the pitch nonetheless won Le Tissier the affections of fans around the country, not just in Southampton, particularly as a regular in goal of the month and goal of the season polls.

Seriously… did he ever score a bad goal!?

66. Carlos Tevez

Controversy was rarely very far from Tevez, whether it was his substantial role keeping West Ham in the Premier League at Sheffield United’s expense after a transfer that broke league rules, or allowing Manchester City to give cross-city rivals United a hefty poke in the eye by making the move to the Etihad.

But it’s no coincidence that wherever he went, he was able to help his various clubs succeed in their respective objectives.

Tevez’s excellent work rate and decision saw him scoop two league titles and a Champions League with United as part of one of the English football’s all-time most sensational strike forces, while his goalscoring took centre stage after his move to City, who he left having scored close to one every other game.

65. Brad Friedel

The American stopper holds the record for the most consecutive Premier League appearances. Between August 2004 and October 2012, Friedel played 310 straight matches – comprising eight years, six managers and three clubs.

And Friedel even bagged a 90th-minute equaliser for Blackburn against Charlton Athletic in February 2004... only for the Addicks to net an even later winner to take the spoils 3-2.

A fine leader, communicator and goalkeeper.

64. Dimitar Berbatov

Tottenham were no strangers to being disappointed by centre-forward signings when they prised Berbatov away from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006 – but with the Bulgarian, they got exactly the player they had seen in the shop window.

The most sanguine of strikers, Berbatov had the uncanny knack of making everything he did look so natural and easy. Where other players would buzz and busy themselves around him, Berbatov would be a deceptively laid-back lioness of a player who knew just exactly when to pounce.

An excellent two years at White Hart Lane led to a big-money move to reigning European champions Manchester United.

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Initially signed to accompany Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo, Berbatov took on a more prominent role after the latter pair both left in 2009, winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 2010/11 to put alongside his two league titles before ending his spell in England at Fulham.

He's regarded today as one of the greatest players ever to have never to win the Champions League, too.

63. Robin van Persie

No one could connect a ball as sweetly first time as him.

Van Persie vexed the Gunners by swapping north London for Manchester after eight years and 132 goals at Arsenal but, desperate to bag a Premier League medal after a sensational 30-goal season in 2011/12, he was proved right.

Another 26 strikes helped Manchester United to their 13th Premier League crown under Alex Ferguson, in the Scot’s final year. His perfect volley from a raking Wayne Rooney pass – part of a hat-trick against Aston Villa in April 2013 – sealed no.20 for United. The same number as on the back of RVP's shirt.

62. Nicolas Anelka

Anelka was 17 years old when he became one of Arsene Wenger’s defining first signings at Highbury. He won a double in 1997/98 and the PFA Young Player of the Year award a season later, having top-scored for Arsenal with 17 goals.

Ian Wright even knew that this was the man who would replace him. Anelka was to get his Galactico move to Real Madrid: Wenger, heartbroken, moved for Thierry Henry – but Anelka was to return to England several times.

Le Sulk notched impressive tallies at Houllier’s Liverpool and Keegan’s City before he snatched the Golden Boot ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, and won a second Premier League and FA Cup Double in 2010 – 12 years after his first. A journeyman who never hit the heights expected of him? For sure – but a all-time great in the division, nonetheless.

61. Paolo Di Canio

Egil Olsen’s notoriously direct Wimbledon were rarely associated with things of beauty... that is, until Trevor Sinclair launched a 50-yard diagonal pass against them.

Rather than controlling, Di Canio met it on the volley with a scissor-kick that flew past Neil Sullivan. In its technique, audacity and execution, it’s among the top Premier League efforts of all time.

His 2002 volley at Chelsea was almost as good. Di Canio offered excitement and identity. Combustible, controversial and charismatic, he overshadowed the exciting generation of homegrown talents who went on to scale greater heights – although none performed with such eccentricity.

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He was the master of the feint, often beating the defender or goalkeeper an extra time before shooting. Even Di Canio’s penalties – one famously wrestled off a furious Frank Lampard – could be Panenkas.

The icon was a mass of contradictions but in between, Di Canio was simply one of the best footballers in the division.

60. Xabi Alonso

Now one of the best managers in the world, Xabi Alonso had vision, all right. In fact, he twice scored from inside his own half: the second, in September 2006 against Newcastle, put Steve Harper on his backside.

When Liverpool went toe-to-toe with Manchester United for the 2008/09 title, they did it with their greatest midfield of the Premier League era. Captain Steven Gerrard rampaged, Javier Mascherano hared and, next to them, Alonso glided.

The Spaniard was an instant hit from Real Sociedad in 2004, stunning team-mates with his pristine passing. Gerrard later called him “my most enjoyable partner”.

59. Riyad Mahrez

Silky, dazzling and possessing one of the finest first touches ever seen, Riyad Mahrez’s capabilities were often out of this world.

He first showcases his abilities in Leicester City's remarkable 2015/16 title win, as the one, true flair player in a compact, hard-to-beat machine. While some ruminated over whether that term would become one of the great one-season wonders in Premier League history, however, Mahrez just kept ploughing away.

Mahrez became the most expensive African player of all time for a time when he joined Manchester City after that, and would bring further silverware as the eye-catching Algerian won another four top-flight titles. His neat ball control and ability to leave defenders in his wake mean his qualities yielded him the title of PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2015/16.

Wingers under Pep Guardiola have fitted into neat categories. There were strikers out wide in his tenure (Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o), creative inverted wingers (Pedro, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben) and then his experiments with touchline wingers on their natural side (Douglas Costa, Leroy Sane and Phil Foden) at Bayern and City. Over time, City would evolve to use attacking midfielders with a focus on ball retention (Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva), before he signed one-vs-one specialists in Jeremy Doku and Savinho.

That makes Mahrez a special case as a winger who survived just about every evolution and someone that the Catalan never felt the need to crowbar into a box. One-season-wonder? He was anything but.

58. Teddy Sheringham

A centre-forward ahead of his time, perhaps, Sheringham was just as good at providing for teammates as he was at scoring goals – especially as he became less prolific and more selfless in his later years.

A Millwall stalwart in the 1980s before a successful but short move to Nottingham Forest, Sheringham was just entering his peak when the Premier League began in 1992, prompting Tottenham to snap him up.

Incredibly, Sheringham was still doing the business over a decade later, playing a massive role in arguably Manchester United’s greatest-ever side before returning to Spurs, where his goal tally remained in double figures.

Yet still he wasn’t done: Sheringham earned the adoration of Portsmouth fans for his partnership with Yakubu in their first-ever Premier League season, then at age 38 scored 20 to help West Ham earn promotion back to the top flight, where he played for another two years.

57. James Milner

It’s remarkable to think that anyone under the age of 30 will barely remember a Premier League without James Milner.

After making his debut as a 16-year-old in 2002, the former Leeds United academy graduate has appeared in 23 different Premier League seasons, the most of any player. During this time he’s claimed three winners’ medals, turned out more than 600 times and played for most of the north’s biggest clubs before his move to Brighton two years ago.

It's incredible: he was the second-youngest player to ever play in the Premier League – and he's the first player to have played in 23 seasons. He was handed a league debut by Terry Venables… back when current manager Fabian Hurzeler was still in primary school.

And yet no one can be sure of his best position.

As well as longevity, Milner also has an unmatched versatility in the modern era, seamlessly flitting between roles at full-back, central midfield or on the wings. The Yorkshireman turns 40 next January – and as long as he doesn’t decide to hang up his boots this summer, he should be the Premier League’s record appearance holder by then.

56. Dwight Yorke

Dwight Yorke enjoyed a prolific Premier League career, best known for his time at Aston Villa and Manchester United. Starting at Villa in 1992, he made a significant impact, scoring 60 goals in 147 appearances. In 1998, he moved to United, where he formed a dynamic strike partnership with Andy Cole.

Yorke helped United win three Premier League titles, with his creativity, flair and remarkable link-up play a sheer joy to watch. Further spells followed with Blackburn and Sunderland but the talented talisman is still considered as one of the most talented strikers during his era. His 123 goals in the Premier League, was a record for a non-European player until 2017, with Sergio Aguero sending his record tumbling down.

55. Michael Carrick

Perennially underrated by some fans, Carrick was the kind of player whose influence you only truly felt when he was not there – but whose contribution to the side made him hugely popular with managers, teammates and opponents.

The classy playmaker kept West Ham, Tottenham and finally Manchester United ticking over from deep positions, allowing Sir Alex Ferguson able to transition from the non-stop attacking style that had ceased to be ineffective in the early 2000s and into something more possession-based.

Unsurprisingly, Carrick’s admirers included Xabi Alonso and Xavi, whose similar in-game intelligence and passing ability earned them no end of plaudits. You can’t help but wonder whether Carrick might have been more universally appreciated had he been Miquel Carique instead – or if he had been born ten years later.

54. Sol Campbell

After breaking into the Tottenham Hotspur line-up as a teenager, Campbell took no time at all to establish himself as one of the most steady and reliable centre-backs of his generation… though Spurs fans may question the ‘reliable’ part after his controversial move to hated rivals Arsenal – which might just be the greatest signing of all time.

That may have hurt Tottenham, who Campbell helped to the League Cup in 1999, but proved to be the right move for Campbell, who was the rock at the heart of an Arsenal defence that won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and reached the Champions League final.

Injuries and a loss of form spelt the end of Campbell’s Arsenal career, but he was the perfect fit as a veteran and leader for Portsmouth’s halcyon days under Harry Redknapp, adding another FA Cup winner’s medal to his collection in 2008.

53. David Seaman

Joining a new club and taking in the camera flashes is a moment that makes most players feel immensely cool. Yet upon signing for Birmingham City, David Seaman was asked by manager Ron Saunders to get his kit on.

“I did a full training session in front of all of the media,” Seaman almost blushed to FourFourTwo. “But to be fair to Ron, straight after – obviously, I was very nervous – in a press conference, he went, ‘That lad will play for England,’ in front of all the press.

Saunders wasn't wrong. He was clearly just eager to showcase a man who would go on to become one of his nation's finest-ever keepers.

Safe Hands was a long-established regular in the top flight with the Blues, then QPR in the pre-Premier League era and finished up with a spell at Manchester City, but he will be remembered for his 13-year association with Arsenal throughout their successes in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The 1997 Le Tournoi winner may not have had the aura as invincibility held by the other goalkeepers who are ranked higher in this list – but few of them will have quite as lengthy a highlights reel of spectacular saves as Seaman enjoyed.

At his peak, Seaman’s reflexes and ability were practically unrivalled, while he was able to command great authority over a series of imposing Arsenal defences – in stark contrast to his famously cheerful and avuncular demeanour away from the pitch.

52. Ruud van Nistelrooy

A Manchester United and Premier League cult hero, they really don’t make them like Ruud van Nistelrooy anymore. The Dutchman was deceivingly quick with the ball at his feet and could find the net from all angles with remarkable precision. His continued spats with Arsenal will live long in the memory especially after his penalty helped end the Gunners long-standing unbeaten run in the Premier League in the early 2000s.

In total, Ruud banged in 95 goals at England’s top level and won just one Premier League title in 2002/03. He was one of the greatest finishers in history.

51. Gianfranco Zola

“Gianfranco was iconic at Chelsea – he was part of the attraction,” ex-teammate Michael Duberry told FourFourTwo of Zola.

“It was the influence he had on other Chelsea players like Frank Lampard, too. The attention to detail, to practise and work hard – it rubbed off on anyone who joined the club.”

“People talk about Jose Mourinho putting that mindset into Chelsea, but Zola had already been doing it. He had such an impact there. He transformed the club.”

Legacies don’t come much better than that. Chelsea’s successful era began back on that autumn day in 1996, when Gianfranco Zola walked through the door at Stamford Bridge.

That Zola is still perhaps the most adored signing ever made by the club – through the billions and the brilliance that was to follow – is testament to a little genius with magic in his heels. He scored bangers, he scored important goals and he simply embodied everything that Chelsea longed to be, from the 90s and beyond: unpredictable and unswerving.

The greatest-ever Italian in the Premier League? He's certainly the most influential.