The Premier League has produced some of the greatest footballers the game has ever seen. Since its formation in 1992, the league has been home to extraordinary talent, iconic moments, and players whose influence went far beyond goals and assists.
Gary already gave you his take right here on the StatrDraft blog — and it’s a decent list. But it’s wrong. So here’s mine. My definitive, fight-me-if-you-want, no-backsies Premier League Top 10 of All Time. When ranking the greatest players ever, I’m looking at three things: their impact on their team, their statistical output, and their peak ability. The following ten players combine all three — shaping eras, redefining positions, and delivering performances that still dominate highlight reels today.
1. Wayne Rooney — Built Different
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
| 491
APPS |
208
GOALS |
103
ASSISTS |
5
PL TITLES |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQxu1_FoHL4&pp=ygUXd2F5bmUgcm9vbmV5IGhpZ2hsaWdodHM%3D
Let’s get one thing straight from the off: Wayne Rooney is not just the greatest English player of the Premier League era, he’s one of the greatest players, full stop. The fact that he burst onto the scene at 16, terrorising Arsenal at Goodison Park, and then spent the next decade and a half dragging Manchester United over the line season after season is nothing short of extraordinary. Peak Rooney was primal, cultured, raw, seductive, all at the same time, he scored goals nobody else could dream off, that volley, that overhead kick, that halfway line, most players dream of scoring 1, just one of these, and he did them all, multiple times. Genuinely, lets we forget, let’s go to the tapes.
208 Premier League goals. 103 assists. 491 appearances. Five league titles, a Champions League, four FA Cups. He’s the only player in history to score over 200 Premier League goals and deliver over 100 assists. As a striker, as a 10, as a midfielder — it didn’t matter. Rooney did it all. For me, no one tops him.
Why he’s number one
- 208 Premier League goals — second only to Shearer all-time
- 103 Premier League assists — third all-time, remarkable for a forward
- 5 Premier League titles, 1 Champions League, 4 FA Cups
- 4x England Player of the Year, 2x PFA Young Player of the Year
- Manchester United’s all-time top scorer in all competitions (253 goals)
- Could play striker, number 10, or central midfielder at the highest level
2. Thierry Henry — Mr Va Va Voom
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
| 258
APPS |
175
GOALS |
74
ASSISTS |
2
PL TITLES |
I don’t have Rooney and Henry far apart in my head. The truth is, if you’re picking your Premier League all-time XI and you don’t start Thierry Henry, you’re picking the wrong team. He was simply sublime. Silk, speed, finishing that made you feel like a fool for thinking a goalkeeper had a chance.
175 Premier League goals. 74 assists. Four Golden Boots. The Invincibles. That goal against Man United. That solo run against Liverpool. The man was art. He was Va Va Voom, he scored against 34 of the 35 Premier League clubs he faced, and his 20 assists in a single season (2002-03) still stands as a joint-record. He didn’t just play football — he made it look like something else entirely.
Why he makes the list
- 175 Premier League goals — 7th all-time
- 4 Premier League Golden Boots — more than any other player in history
- 2x FWA Footballer of the Year, 2x PFA Players’ Player of the Year
- Key figure in Arsenal’s unbeaten Invincibles season (2003-04)
- 20 assists in 2002-03 — joint-record for a single season
- Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer (228 goals in all competitions)
3. Kevin De Bruyne — The Man Who Rewired Football’s Brain
| 288
APPS |
72
GOALS |
119
ASSISTS |
6
PL TITLES |
Do you want to argue with me about KDB at number 3? Mon so, find me a midfielder in the history of the Prem who has done more, in less time with more consistency. You Won’t. The Belgian was been the best player in the league for about a decade, and the numbers, oh my, the numbers do they back it up.
119 league assists, second only to Ryan Giggs, in less than half the appearances! 288 appearances, 72 goals, 6 Titles, 1 Champions League, Treble winner, Centurions leader. Since joining Citah in 2015, no player in Europe’s Top 5 Leagues created more chances or registered more assists. Not one. Pep even him called him one of the greatest midfielders ever. Reckon the chap that managed Xavi and Iniesta knows a thing or 2.
Why he makes the list
- 119 Premier League assists, second all-time (Giggs is first, but had 344 more appearances)
- 6 Premier League titles, 1 Champions League, 2 FA Cups, 5 League Cups
- 2x Premier League Player of the Season, PFA Player of the Year
- Most chances created of any player in Europe’s top 5 leagues since 2015
- Helped City become the first team to reach 100 league points in a season
- 199 ‘Big Chances Created’ in the Premier League, a ridiculous number
4. Alan Shearer — The Record Breaker
| 441
APPS |
260
GOALS |
~23
ASSISTS |
1
PL TITLES |
260 Premier League goals. The record. The mountain. The number that every striker since has been measured against and found wanting. Shearer was the Premier League’s first great superstar — a battering ram with the touch of an artist and the instinct of a born killer in front of goal. He was the reason centre-halves in the 1990s had nightmares on a Sunday night.
He won three consecutive Premier League top scorer awards. He turned down Manchester United — Manchester United — to go home to Newcastle. That’s loyalty. That’s class. Yes, he only won one title (Blackburn, 1995), but no footballer has ever put the ball in the net more often in this league, and that counts for everything.
Why he makes the list
- 260 Premier League goals — the all-time record, and it’s not close
- 3 consecutive Premier League Golden Boots (1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97)
- 5x Premier League Player of the Month
- Euro ‘96 Golden Boot — England’s greatest tournament in a generation
- PFA Players’ Player of the Year 1995, FWA Footballer of the Year 1994
- Turned down Man United to play for his hometown club. Absolute legend.
5. Roy Keane – The Force of Nature
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
| 366
APPS |
39
GOALS |
33
ASSISTS |
7
PL TITLES |
Stats don’t capture Roy Keane. You can throw 366 appearances, 39 goals and 33 assists at someone and they’ll shrug. But the moment you mention Juventus away in 1999, they’ll understand. A player so dominant that he dragged 10 men to a 3–2 comeback in a Champions League semi-final, knowing that a yellow card had already ruled him out of the final. That is not a human thing to do.
Sir Alex Ferguson called him the best midfielder he ever worked with. That’s Ferguson. The man who had Scholes, Giggs, Beckham, and Ronaldo on his books. Keane won seven Premier League titles, led the Treble of 1999, and was the heartbeat of the most successful English club side of the modern era. Named in Pelé’s FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players. You don’t argue with Pelé.
WHY HE MAKES THE LIST
- 7 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 1 Champions League (Treble 1999)
- Captain of Manchester United’s most dominant era
- Named in Pelé’s FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players
- Premier League Hall of Fame inductee 2021
- The Juventus semi-final (1999) — possibly the greatest individual UCL display ever
- Sir Alex Ferguson: “The best midfielder I have ever worked with”
6. Paul Scholes — The Quiet Conductor
| 499
APPS |
107
GOALS |
54
ASSISTS |
11
PL TITLES |
If you didn’t appreciate Paul Scholes while he was playing, Xavi and Zinedine Zidane were there to remind you. Two of the greatest midfielders in the history of the game publicly called him the best of his generation. Not the best in England. The best, full stop. And they weren’t wrong.
Eleven Premier League titles. More than any English player in history. 499 appearances — every single one for Manchester United. 107 league goals from midfield. Twice a Champions League winner. He missed the 1999 UCL final through suspension and came back nine years later to score the goal that sent United to the final in Moscow. That’s a story that writes itself. This isn’t about Champions Leagues or anything this is about the Premier League only, but he was the maestro in the machine, the silent conductor, the fella the legends bowed too.
Why he makes the list
- 11 Premier League titles — more than any English player ever
- 107 Premier League goals from midfield — remarkable for his position
- 3 FA Cups, 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, 25 trophies in total
- 499 Premier League appearances — all for one club
- Xavi: “Scholes is the best midfielder of his generation, by far.”
- One-club man who could have played in any era, for any team, and thrived
7. Steven Gerrard — Mr Liverpool
| 504
APPS |
120
GOALS |
92
ASSISTS |
0
PL TITLES |
Let’s be honest about Steven Gerrard: if he’d played for any other club, he’d be regarded as the greatest English midfielder of all time without question. The reason his legacy has any asterisk at all is because he spent his career carrying a team that, for long stretches, wasn’t good enough to carry back. And still he nearly dragged them to a league title in 2014, but he slipped, as did his chance of being higher on the list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-u0gOjKS4g
504 Premier League appearances. 120 goals. 92 assists. He was the only player to have scored in an FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Champions League final. He was Man of the Match in Istanbul. He was FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009. If that slip in 2014 didn’t happen, we’re talking about a different conversation entirely.
Why he makes the list
- 504 Premier League appearances, 120 goals, 92 assists
- Champions League winner 2005 — Man of the Match in Istanbul
- Only player to score in FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and UCL finals
- FWA Footballer of the Year 2009
- 114 England caps, captaining his country 38 times
- Led Liverpool to within one slip of the 2014 Premier League title
8. Frank Lampard — The Midfield Goal Machine
| 609
APPS |
177
GOALS |
102
ASSISTS |
3
PL TITLES |
Frank Lampard is one of 11 players ever to score 150+ Premier League goals. He is the only midfielder on that list. He spent over a decade at Chelsea doing things central midfielders simply are not supposed to do — arriving late into the box, reading play before it happened, and finishing like a seasoned striker. He was relentless.
177 Premier League goals. 102 assists. Three league titles. A Champions League. He’s fourth in the all-time Premier League assists chart. He was FWA Footballer of the Year in 2005 and finished second in the Ballon d’Or that same year. He played in an era alongside Gerrard where England had two world-class box-to-box midfielders — and somehow couldn’t find a way to use both at the same time. Football can be cruel.
Why he makes the list
- 177 Premier League goals — the most ever by a midfielder
- 102 Premier League assists — fourth all-time
- 3 Premier League titles, 1 UCL, 4 FA Cups with Chelsea
- FWA Footballer of the Year 2005, Ballon d’Or runner-up 2005
- Only midfielder in history to score 150+ Premier League goals
- Made 500+ appearances for Chelsea — one of their greatest ever players
9. Cristiano Ronaldo — The Phenomenon (First Spell)
| 236
APPS |
103
GOALS |
37
ASSISTS |
3
PL TITLES |
I’m judging Ronaldo strictly on his Premier League record here. His time at Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al-Nassr is a separate conversation. What he did at Manchester United — particularly between 2006 and 2009 — was as good as anything the Premier League has ever produced. He arrived as a raw, infuriating teenage winger and left as the best player on the planet.
In 2007-08 alone, he scored 31 Premier League goals — the most by any United player in a single 38-game season. He won the Ballon d’Or that year. He won three consecutive Premier League titles from 2007-09 and a Champions League. He then won a PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in the same season — a first. When he left, Sir Alex Ferguson called it ‘an impossible job’ to keep him. You can see why.
Why he makes the list
- 84 Premier League goals in his first spell, 103 in all PL appearances
- 3 Premier League titles, 1 Champions League at Man United
- 31 league goals in 2007-08 — the most in a 38-game PL season for United
- Ballon d’Or 2008 — won while playing in the Premier League
- First player to win PFA Player of the Year AND Young Player of the Year in the same season
- Evolved from a tricky winger into the most devastating player in world football
10. Ryan Giggs — The Eternal Flame of Old Trafford
| 632
APPS |
109
GOALS |
162
ASSISTS |
13
PL TITLES |
Thirteen Premier League titles. Thirteen. Let that number roll around your head. Ryan Giggs won more league titles than any player in the history of English football. He played in the Premier League for 23 years. He scored in 21 consecutive Premier League seasons. He had 632 appearances and 162 assists in the competition — the all-time assist record. The man was a phenomenon.
Now, does he rank higher on some people’s lists? Absolutely. Is there a case? Without question. But for me, his later years were spent more as a squad player, and I can’t put him above the nine above him at their peaks. What I can say is that 10 on this list is still a remarkable honour, and Giggs deserves every bit of it.
Why he makes the list
- 13 Premier League titles — more than any player in history
- 632 Premier League appearances, 109 goals, 162 assists (all-time assist record)
- 2 UEFA Champions Leagues, 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups
- Made appearances in 22 consecutive Premier League seasons
- Scored in 21 of those 22 seasons — the definition of consistency
- PFA Young Player of the Year 1992 and 1993 — the league’s first great star
Honourable Mentions — And Yes, It Hurt Leaving These Out
This is the part of the list that causes arguments. Because every name below this line is a player who, on their best days, could have made a case for the top 10. Some of them gave me sleepless nights. Here’s where they landed and why.
Mohamed Salah – Would be number 11 on my list. If he’d arrived even two seasons earlier, he’s comfortably in the top 10. The most consistent attacking player of the last eight years, multiple Golden Boots and a goal return that defies belief. The argument for him is strong — the players above him were simply, just about, better over a longer stretch.
Ashley Cole – The best left-back the Premier League has ever produced. Arguably the best in the world at his peak. Three titles, multiple FA Cups, a Champions League. The conversation about elite defenders doesn’t start without his name.
Andy Cole – 187 Premier League goals — second only to Shearer all-time and he didn’t take penalties. 2nd of all time, and not a single spotkick in sight. Imagine if he was selfish, lord. Fast, ruthless, clinical. People forget how good Andy Cole was because he played in an era of giants. He shouldn’t be forgotten.
John Terry – In pure footballing terms, the best centre-back the Premier League has seen. Five titles, a Champions League. You know why he’s not higher. We all do.
Eric Cantona – Gary has him at 2. I get it. The King is the King. But five seasons, 156 appearances and 64 league goals — no matter how transformative — can’t carry him past the names above. He changed the culture. He just didn’t play enough.
Dennis Bergkamp – That goal against Newcastle. You know the one. Technically, probably the most gifted player ever to grace this league. Doesn’t make the top 10 purely because his best years were shared with Juventus and Ajax. But good lord, what a footballer.
David Silva – Ten seasons at City. 309 Premier League appearances. Four titles. One of the most elegant and intelligent footballers this country has ever seen. If De Bruyne hadn’t turned up and redefined creative midfielder, Silva would be in my top 10 without question.
Paul Gascoigne – What could have been. Peak Gazza — those three or four seasons at Tottenham and his moments at Rangers — was as gifted as anyone on this list. The Premier League didn’t get the best of him. That’s the tragedy.
Harry Kane – 213 Premier League goals for Spurs alone. Had he stayed, Shearer’s record would have fallen. He didn’t. So he doesn’t make the top 10. Same reasoning as Gary’s, and I won’t apologise for it.
Eden Hazard – From 2014 to 2019, he was the most exciting player in the Premier League on his day. But ‘on his day’ is the key phrase. The consistency wasn’t always there, and he left the league too early to truly cement a top 10 case.
Vincent Kompany – The leader who made City’s first dynasty possible. Four Premier League titles. A towering presence, a colossus at the back. Injuries cost him seasons — and cost him a top 10 place. One of the most respected players of his generation.
Sergio Aguero – AGUEROOOOO. 184 Premier League goals. The most iconic moment in Premier League history. One of the most natural finishers the game has ever produced. He just misses out because of the sheer calibre of the players above him. No shame in that.
Luis Suárez – For one season — 2013–14 — he was the best player on the planet. 31 goals in 33 games. Frightening. But one season, regardless of how brilliant, can’t carry a player into a top 10 of all time. He’d agree with that himself.
Sadio Mané – A Golden Boot winner, a Champions League winner, a relentless pressing machine who was world class for four or five seasons. Similar to Hazard — the longevity in the league just wasn’t quite there to put him above the names in the top 10.
Patrick Vieira – The midfielder who made the Invincibles possible. If Keane was the enforcer at United, Vieira was his equal at Arsenal. Two sides of the same coin — one just wins out on trophies.
Tony Adams – Mr Arsenal. Four league titles across two completely different eras. A leader, a warrior, someone who’d run through a wall for his team. Not always pretty. Always effective. Always respected.
N’Golo Kanté – Two Premier League titles with two different clubs. A Champions League. A World Cup. The man who seemed to be everywhere on a football pitch at once. At his peak between 2016 and 2018, he was unplayable. A gem of a player.
So there it is. My definitive, Premier League Top 10 of All Time. Do you agree? Do you violently disagree? Have I robbed someone you love? Head over to the StatrDraft community and let us have it — that’s what we’re here for.
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