20. Petr Cech
Chelsea, Arsenal
Glovemen in England have long had a reputation for being fiery or eccentric. Not the ice-cool Cech, though. He let in a poxy 15 goals in his maiden campaign at Chelsea, which set the tone for an outstanding top-flight career in which he won four titles and four Golden Gloves.
HIGHLIGHT In 2015, just over a decade after arriving in England, Cech kept a record 170th Premier League clean sheet as Arsenal beat Bournemouth. His final tally of 202 is unlikely to be topped any time soon.
19. Mohamed Salah
Chelsea, Liverpool
Salah arrived in the wrong place at the wrong time at Chelsea in 2014. Undeterred, he joined Liverpool three years later, following success with both Fiorentina and Roma, and couldn’t have picked his moment any better.
The ‘Egyptian King’ was the catalyst in turning a promising outfit into conquerors. A pair of Golden Boots have come amid domestic, European and world titles in three full seasons at Anfield.
HIGHLIGHT That goal against Manchester City. In arguably the most technically, physically impressive game the Premier League had ever seen, one man stepped up and waltzed through the City backline.
18. Dennis Bergkamp
Arsenal
It’s apt that his statue at Arsenal depicts him pulling a ball out of the sky. The Dutch maestro celebrated three titles and 87 league goals in north London, but it’s his elegance which endures. Lethal and incisive, Bergkamp’s gift to English football was his artistry. Few are universally loved beyond the clubs they made their name with. The ‘Ice Man’ is, though.
HIGHLIGHT Any excuse to watch that 1997 Leicester hat-trick – his third, physics-defying goal the pick of a stunning triple.
17. Sergio Aguero
Manchester City
We asked former colleague and compatriot, Pablo Zabaleta, to tell us why King Kun deserved a spot in the top 20…
“Kun always retained the personality of a kid from the neighbourhood – someone who has fun and has the ability to live with a smile on his face every day. He’s an outgoing guy who lives with enthusiasm.
“I don’t think there’s been another player like Aguero in the history of Manchester City – maybe David Silva, who also left his mark on an era. Both are players who arrived from other important clubs and then stayed for a long time, even though they could have left and signed for other teams. World-class people. They made City what they are today. Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany are also in that group, but Aguero has scored so many goals and that makes him special.
“When he popped up against QPR to win us the Premier League in 2012, he was the only player who could have been in that situation. Anybody else would have looked for a penalty, fallen over or shot over the bar. He was the one – he was destined to be the man of that season.
“He’s always been a special player who is ready to score important goals. For me, he’s the best striker the Premier League has had in the last decade.”
HIGHLIGHT Is it even possible to think of Sergio Aguero’s name in the same way ever again? The most climatic moment of Premier League history in May 2012 is unlikely to be matched for its importance or drama.
16. Peter Schmeichel
Manchester United, Aston Villa, Manchester City
“Bargain of the century,” was Alex Ferguson’s assessment of the great Dane, plucked from Brondy for £505,000 in July 1991. Schmeichel was United’s finest goalkeeper, his leadership, bravery and reflexes essential in five title wins, before bowing out on a high after the 1999 Treble.
HIGHLIGHT A sensational display against rivals Newcastle in March 1996 – pulling off save after save in a 1-0 win – proved pivotal in the title race. Stunning.
15. Ashley Cole
Arsenal, Chelsea
Having Ashley Cole in your team was like having two players in one on the left. The defender melded intelligence with athleticism to become an Invincible at 23, then swapped north London for west to win every other trophy going at Stamford Bridge. Probably the most complete full-back in football history.
HIGHLIGHT Cole bested Cristiano Ronaldo in a draw against Manchester United in 2006. “He kind of put his hand up and said, ‘I want to go off’ – I think that was a good time to say I had him in my pocket,” winked Cole.
14. Rio Ferdinand
West Ham United, Leeds United, Manchester United, Queens Park Rangers
As a lad, the Peckham native famously turned down a five-year scholarship at the Central School of Ballet to focus more on football. His career was no less on pointe. Tall, strong, graceful and effortlessly calm in possession, there was something gloriously cultured to Ferdinand, twice the world’s most expensive defender.
HIGHLIGHT Rio was key to a United defence which conceded just 22 goals as they won the 2007-08 Premier League, his third of six.
13. John Terry
Chelsea
We asked former teammate Michael Ballack to tell us the importance of the man that Chelsea fans unfurled the “Captain, Leader, Legend” in honour of…
“Throughout my career, I thought it was so important to the success of a team – in the short term and long-term – to have a core of domestic players. Manchester United were successful under Alex Ferguson with a group of English players, and when I was at Bayern Munich there were several influential German guys at the club.
“John Terry was a massive figure at Chelsea – he kept the team together. It’s important at a club that you have a captain who leads by example, and we had that in John. Even if he was injured, he always travelled with the team. He looked after the other players, the staff – he embodied everything that a captain should be. The Chelsea players recognised and respected that a lot.
“On the pitch, he was a typical English defender: strong, good in the air, fearless and a great tackler. He read the game superbly. To be honest, I can’t think of a particular match where John stood out for Chelsea – but that’s just because he was such a consistent performer. He played so well in every match that his exceptional performances just became the norm.”
HIGHLIGHT Terry was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year as Chelsea broke the Premier League record for fewest goals conceded in Mourinho’s first campaign, then honed their menacing brand of bastardry to enjoy the three greatest defensive campaigns of their history.
12. Roy Keane
Nottingham Forest, Manchester United
Keane won seven Premier League titles at United, four FA Cups, the Champions League and Intercontinental Cup. He became their most important player after Eric Cantona retired in 1997 – the year Keane was handed the captaincy.
“He was a combative player who could smell danger, read situations and tell where the ball was dropping. He was defensive-minded but could also break forward,” close friend and teammate Denis Irwin said. “He was a huge driving force in training and in being Manchester United.”
HIGHLIGHT That extraordinary Champions League performance against Juventus typified the season: in 1999, Keano grabbed the side by the scruff of the neck and led United to an unprecedented Treble.
10. Harry Kane
Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City
Top-scoring exploits never brought a league title. Maybe in time, Kane will return and finish what he started – either way, he'll always be regarded as one of the greatest to ever do it in English football. Always an underdog, labelled a one-season wonder and doubted against the best on Earth, who flocked to his shores to compete against him, Kane always stood tall.
His achievements may not be cast in precious metal – but they are most certainly glimmering brightly in the minds of Spurs fans and beyond for his deftness and destruction.
HIGHLIGHT That brilliant brace against Arsenal in 2015, as Spurs fans returned Gooners’ taunts that he was “one of their own”. Hubris, meet Nemesis.
