Ranked! The 50 greatest 'Barclaysmen' in Premier League history

10. Zoltan Gera

Despite his status as a cult hero at West Brom nowadays, Zoltan Gera was once the poster boy for the club’s struggles as they stared down the barrel of relegation in 2005. Undeterred by public criticism, a drastic rise in form saw Gera play an integral part in the Baggies’ great escape.

He remained loyal through relegation to the championship a year later before eventually departing for Fulham in 2009, immediately becoming a key player for the West London outfit as they surged to an unlikely UEFA Cup final, scoring crucial goals along the way. The Hungary international developed an eye for the extraordinary over his teen year stint in England, including a return to West Brom in 2011, with goals from distance making up the majority of his fairly sparse scoring catalogue.

9. Tugay Kerimoglu

Tugay joined Blackburn from Rangers at the age of 30 years old – yet he left as their best-ever Premier League player. With almost 300 appearances, the Turkish midfield maestro dazzled his Ewood audience with a brand of brilliance that combined running the engine room by himself with unleashing rockets from range: born in Istanbul, but spiritually Brazilian. 

Ali Dia aside, Tugay became arguably Graeme Souness's defining buy, having captained Galatasaray under the Scot during the 90s. Helping Rovers to a League Cup final, then a sixth-place finish, Tugay was the artist among the bruisers: it was frequently noted that he could be playing at an elite level. 

He's still the only Blackburn star to ever finish third at a World Cup. He rivals Alan Shearer as the club's greatest modern player. And he's still the only player to turn Ewood red-and-white, leaving after eight seasons in a goalless on-the-beach-already draw against West Brom. He's far more than ‘cult’ in that corner of Lancashire.

8. Geovanni

Geovanni arrived in England with plenty of fanfare. Capped at senior level with Brazil, and once an $18 million signing for Barcelona, the midfielder joined Manchester City in 2007 looking to reignite his career.

Scoring the winner against Manchester United helped fans warm to him immediately, helped by a dazzling ability to beat a man and a tendency for the odd screamer. He was, however, released in 2008 after failing to secure a contract extension, joining fellow Premier League outfit Hull City that same summer.

It was here that the samba star really kicked on, notching the Tigers’ first-ever Premier League goal, before rifling a belter against Arsenal just a month later, helping them to their only away win over the Gunners. Geovanni ended the season as the club’s player of the season, helping them narrowly avoid relegation and securing his status as a Hull City and Premier League cult hero. 

7. Roque Santa Cruz

A towering South American with a keen eye for goal, as well as 150-odd appearances for Bayern Munich, Roque Santa Cruz possessed all the attributes to take the Premier League by storm. 

The striker joined Blackburn in 2007 in a €5 million deal from the German giants and hit the ground running immediately. Santa Cruz netted 19 goals in his debut campaign in England, helping the Rovers to an unlikely seventh-placed finish in the league. 

Six months later, the Paraguayan was on the move again, this time in a £17.5 million deal to Manchester City following their recent influx in cash. A handful of appearances in Manchester saw Santa Cruz lose the form that once dazzled fans, but his legacy was already secured, and at 43 years old, he still plays professionally to this day. 

6. Adel Taraabt

A trailblazer of the ‘streets won’t forget’ movement, Adel Taraabt is one of the most technically gifted footballers in Premier League history, despite failing to even get close to his lofty potential.

The Moroccan lit up the championship under Neil Warnock at Queens Park Rangers before carrying that form into the Premier League, albeit on a less consistent basis. The king of nutmegs and seemingly able to sidefoot a shot into the bottom corner from any range, Taraabt personified the phrase ‘edge of your seat’.

Attitude problems later tarred his reputation in England before departing permanently in 2015, but no one can forget the jaw-dropping magic the midfielder once displayed at will.

5. Yakubu

The things that Yakubu has been centre-stage for in the Premier League – from Blackburn fans infamously releasing a chicken onto the pitch in protest of their owners, to scoring back-to-back Portsmouth hat-tricks – cement him in the very tapestry of the league's lore. 

The Bayeux Barclaysman himself was the very model of a midtable hitman during his pomp, leading Portsmouth up before becoming Boro's biggest buy ever. He took a shirt number at Everton just as a target to hit that many goals in the season; he scored all four goals in 4-2 win for Rovers. Even now, he's the fourth-highest African scorer in Prem history with 96, leaving memories a-plenty and echoes from terraces of ‘feeding the Yak’. 

That he scored hat-tricks with three different Premier League clubs – the only man to do so solely in the 21st Century – highlights quite how box-office he could be wherever he laid his hat, on his long and winding road from the northeast to the south coast via Lancashire and Merseyside. A true cult hit. 

4. Jay-Jay Okocha

Arguably, the pioneering Barclaysman to which all others hold a candle, perhaps we'll never truly know how much Augustine ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha influenced Paris Saint-Germain team-mate and fellow artist, Ronaldinho. We've got a fairly good grasp on just how he changed the Premier League forever, mind.

Okocha wasn't just the face of Sam Allardyce's home for retired Galacticos up at the Reebok, he was the heart, soul and sinew. He joined in 2002, scored the winner on the final day of the season to keep Bolton in the big time and proceeded to drive them to eighth, then sixth. 

The combination of the Nigerian's deftness, grace and will to work for the team was pivotal to a revolution in the northwest – and a cultural shift in English football. He's still revered to this day by those who never even supported the Trotters.

3. Michu

Perhaps the greatest one-season wonder in Premier League history, Michu’s 2012/13 season with Swansea will go down in Premier League folklore for all the right reasons. Having recently joined as an attacking midfielder, the Spaniard netted in each of his first three games, pairing a towering frame with spectacular on-the-ball ability.

He went on to score 18 league goals, as well as helping Swansea to the League Cup that season. Injuries then hindered his ability to kick on, eventually forcing him to retire in his early thirties, however, Michu’s legacy lives on thanks to one special, special campaign.

2. Rory Delap

The man who made throw-ins the most dangerous set piece of them all for a period of time, Rory Delap needs no introduction on this list. A key figure in Tony Pulis’ Stoke side that frustrated their way to Europe in their prime, Delap’s remarkable ability to launch the ball from a throw-in became one of the most terrifying moves in the league, helped further by the sheer size of his teammates.

Of Stoke’s opening 13 goals of the 2008/09 season, seven were assisted by Delap throws, such was the devastation caused by his ability. An iconic player in an iconic team, a true ‘Barclaysman’.

1. Morten Gamst Pederson

The mid-late 2000s Blackburn team is arguably the most highly-concentrated source of ‘Barclaysmen’ in the country, but no one typifies the name more than Morten Gamst Pedersen.

A beautiful blend of outrageous talent and frustrating inconsistency, when Pedersen put it all together there were few more entertaining players in the league at the time. Theatrical dives and wonder strikes were certain to keep fans entertained regardless of the outcome of the match.

Pedersen spent nine years at Ewood Park, ensuring he became a Blackburn legend, but the sheer wow factor on the field helped secure a place in the neutral’s heart as well.