The Premier League has been around for almost 30 years at this stage, and it has had some truly memorable characters. We’ve seen some of the greatest footballers ever grace pitches up and down the country in what is considered by many the best league in the world. During these last few decades, the league has seen tremendous success for midfielders both English and from around the world.
Eleven of the 28 PFA Player’s Player of the Year winners in the Premier League era have been midfielders, with two multiple-time winners in Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Here at NetBet, we decided to pay tribute to a number of the most iconic midfielders of the Premier League era, including some current players who you will see when you’re browsing our sports betting pages before making a few bets.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United
The best player in the world to many, Cristiano Ronaldo’s rise to fame truly started gathering steam when he established himself in the Manchester United team. Coming in and taking David Beckham’s famous number 7 shirt at Old Trafford, the Portuguese winger pushed himself to become one of the best players in the world, which was reflected in his absurd trophy haul before getting snapped up by Real Madrid in the most expensive move ever at the time. If you head to the bottom of Ronaldo’s Wikipedia page where most athletes’ list of honours is, you’ll find yourself redirected to a page full of his career achievements, such is the scope of his success. With Manchester United, he picked up two Champions Leagues, a Club World Cup, three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and, particularly in 2008, a list of personal accolades far too long for us to list here, that included the coveted Ballon D’Or. He has since won that award four more times, and will go down in history with greats like Pele, Maradona and Messi.
Steven Gerrard – Liverpool
Aside from a brief stint in Los Angeles in the twilight of his career, Stevie G was a one-club man. The Whiston midfielder is undoubtedly the best player ever to go without winning a major league title, but his trophy cabinet is still pretty full. He played in front of the world famous Anfield Kop for 17 seasons, winning two FA Cups, three League Cups, a Champions League, UEFA Cup (Now Europa League), FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup. He was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and Ballon d’Or Bronze Award winner in 2005 after guiding his team to one of the greatest Champions League finals victories ever when they came from 3-0 down at half-time to beat AC Milan on penalties. The versatile midfielder, who was a Premier League runner-up three times, is the only player to score in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup (Europa League) Final, and a UEFA Champions League Final He was on the winning side on every one of those occasions.
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City, Chelsea
Considered the ‘complete midfielder’ by pundits around the World, Kevin De Bruyne’s legacy is already cemented at just 29 years of age. The Manchester City playmaker is one of the best in the world at the moment, and already has an impressive career trophy haul. Originally arriving in England as a January deadline day signing for Chelsea on a five-year contract, he couldn’t find his way into the team and left for Wolfsburg after a loan spell at Werder Bremen. After a decent couple of years at Wolfsburg, Manchester City paid a reported £55 million to bring him to the Etihad, where he has lived up to the price tag an more. De Bruyne has won two Premier League titles, four League Cups and an FA Cup in Manchester. As well as those team glories, his list of personal accolades just since joining City is absurdly long, with prizes such as the Premier League Playmaker of the Season twice, Manchester City’s Player of the Season three times, the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season.
Frank Lampard – West Ham, Chelsea, Manchester City
Many Chelsea fans remember when Frank Lampard controversially joined Manchester City amidst a move to New York after 13 years, but he actually started his Premiership career at Upton Park. Part of the team that brought the Intertoto Cup to the Boleyn Ground in 1999, Lampard spent five years of his early career with the Hammers before beginning a trophy-laden 13-year run at Stamford Bridge. He never picked up a medal at the Etihad, but he won’t be too bothered when he looks back on a career where he earned 106 England caps, played at three World Cups and won a wild amount of trophies. He won three Premier League titles, a Champions League, four FA Cups, a Europa League title, and two Football League Cups.
David Beckham – Manchester United
A name synonymous with the sport of football, David Beckham transcended the game during his legendary career. Gifted with a phenomenal ability to cross the ball and hit free-kicks, Becks is one of the most iconic players in the history of the Premier League. He played for Manchester United for 11 years at professional level before joining the famous Real Madrid ‘Galactico’ team, and introducing soccer as a mainstream sport in the US with LA Galaxy. He won six Premier League titles with Manchester United, as well as two FA Cups and the Champions League during their famous treble season of 1998-99.
