The best British players of the 2010s

The 2010s was an interesting period in British football: England suffered a couple of embarrassing major tournament exits; Wales came so close to reaching their first major final; and the Premier League saw four different champions.

Throughout it all, a select crop of stars shone brighter than the rest, ranging from free-scoring strikers to imperious defenders.

Here, we count down the best British players of the 2010s…

Daniel Sturridge was in the form of his career between 2011 and 2016, with his standout season coming in 2013/14 at Liverpool – where he formed a devastating strike partnership with Luis Suarez and scored 24 goals in 33 games.

Despite being plagued by injuries, Sturridge netted consistently enough to stay in England contention – and he bagged a memorable late winner for the Three Lions against Wales at Euro 2016.

One of the great poachers of the Premier League era, Jermain Defoe notched the best part of 100 goals in the competition during the 2010s alone, mostly for Tottenham and Sunderland.

Part of England’s squads for the 2010 World Cup – where he scored the goal that sent the Three Lions through to the last 16 – and Euro 2012, Defoe hit the first hat-trick at the new Wembley in a 4-0 victory over Bulgaria in qualification for the latter tournament.

The 2010s saw Theo Walcott complete the transition from wonderkid to Premier League star with Arsenal.

A blisteringly quick forward boasting technical ability in abundance, Walcott helped the Gunners to two FA Cups and represented England at Euro 2012 – where he scored in the Three Lions’ group stage win over Sweden.

England’s number one for most of the 2010s, winning 75 caps in all, Joe Hart claimed four Premier League Golden Glove awards between 2011 and 2015, playing a prominent role in Manchester City’s first two title triumphs since the 1960s.

Also turning out for Birmingham City, West Ham and Burnley before the end of the decade, Hart amassed over 100 Prem clean sheets altogether.

One of the best box-to-box midfielders around at his peak, Jordan Henderson left boyhood club Sunderland for Liverpool in 2011 and went on to become a Reds legend.

A League Cup winner in his first campaign at Anfield and a 2018/19 European champion – as captain – Henderson was also a mainstay of the England team who reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

An exceptionally reliable centre-back who earned 61 caps for England between 2009 and 2018, Gary Cahill played the best football of his career after joining Chelsea from Bolton in 2012.

A Champions League winner in his first season at Stamford Bridge, Cahill amassed almost 300 Blues appearances and helped them to Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte – before being made club captain in 2017.

All-time Welsh great Aaron Ramsey won three major trophies during the 2010s with Arsenal – where he was named Player of the Season in 2014 and 2018.

A superbly well-rounded attacking midfield operator, Ramsey – who swapped the Gunners for Juventus in 2019 – played a starring role in Wales’ historic Euro 2016 campaign, making UEFA’s Team of the Tournament as he helped his nation to the last four.

Dele Alli’s prime was all too short, but in the latter half of the 2010s he was one of the most electrifying attacking midfielders in world football.

Signed by Tottenham from third-tier MK Dons in 2015, Dele went on to win successive PFA Young Player of the Year Awards in 2016 and 2017, before starring in England’s run to the 2018 World Cup semis.

A Liverpool and England legend, Steven Gerrard remained at the peak of his powers well into the 2010s.

The perennially barnstorming box-to-box midfield figurehead captained both his club and the national team – wearing the armband at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup – lifting his last trophy with Liverpool in the form of the 2011/12 League Cup, and making his eighth and final PFA Team of the Year two seasons later.

Retiring from international football in 2012 helped John Terry prolong his glittering Chelsea career, and the iconic Blues skipper lifted eight major trophies during the 2010s alone, starring in their maiden Champions League success.

Still one of the best centre-backs around into his mid-30s, the former England skipper was included in the 2014/15 PFA Team of the Year as Chelsea won the Premier League title under Jose Mourinho.

Kyle Walker firmly established himself among the finest right-backs on the planet during the 2010s, swapping Tottenham for Manchester City in 2017 and winning the Premier League title in each of his first two campaigns at the Etihad Stadium.

Just about the fastest player in the English top flight in his prime, Walker made his England debut in 2011 and featured prominently in the run to the 2018 World Cup semis – proving his versatility by operating as a centre-half in a back three.

As Leicester astonishingly won the 2015/16 Premier League title, 24-goal number nine Jamie Vardy completed a footballing fairytale of his own – just six years earlier, he had been playing for Stocksbridge Park Steels in the Northern Premier League.

FWA Footballer of the Year that same glorious season and a goalscorer for England against Wales at that summer’s Euros, Vardy’s combination of electric pace and devastating finishing helped make him one of the best strikers in the world.

A potent attacking threat whether deployed centrally or out wide, Raheem Sterling shone for Liverpool, Manchester City and England during the 2010s.

After transferring from the Reds to City for £44m in 2015, he starred in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 Premier League title triumphs under Pep Guardiola, scooping PFA Young Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year in the latter of those campaigns.

Named England captain ahead of the 2018 World Cup – where he claimed the Golden Boot – Harry Kane was well on his way to becoming Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer by the end of the decade.

Simply one of the best centre-forwards in world football, Kane picked up his first two Premier League Golden Boots in 2015 and 2016 – before helping Spurs to their first Champions League final in 2019.

Arguably England’s best player of the 00s, Wayne Rooney continued showing his class past 2010, eventually leaving Manchester United in 2017 as the club’s record scorer.

Having begun the decade by doing the double of PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year, Wazza kept racking up the goals for club and country and became England’s all-time leading marksman in 2015 – having assumed the Three Lions captaincy the previous year.

Perhaps the greatest Welsh player ever (John Charles and Ryan Giggs are the only other contenders in any case), Gareth Bale tore many an opponent a new one throughout the 2010s.

Converted from full-back to world-beating winger by Harry Redknapp at Tottenham, the two-time PFA Players’ Player of the Year went on to be crowned a European champion four times with Real Madrid between 2014 and 2018 – stealing the show with a jaw-dropping performance against Liverpool in the 2018 final – and helped propel his nation to the last four of Euro 2016.