English box-to-box power once reigned supreme, but foreign influence both in the middle of the park and on the touchline has brought a semblance of culture to the Premier League’s midfield play.
It’s an abstract position, one that can be divided into various roles. Holders vastly differ in profile to playmakers, but they each fall under the overriding ‘midfielder’ branch.
Thus, conjuring up a list of the Premier League’s best is no easy feat. Just think of how many stars have graced these shores since 1992…
Nevertheless, 90min has given it a crack. Here are the Premier League‘s 20 best midfielders since the competition’s inception.
There have been far flashier midfielders than Barry, but very few boasted the Englishman’s reliability and longevity. The diligent operator was a stable presence in so many midfields, and he holds the Premier League record for most appearances with a whopping 653.
Understated and underrated, Barry lifted the league title with Manchester City in 2011/12.
Alonso’s arrival at Anfield in 2004 marked a new dawn for the Reds with Rafael Benitez building Liverpool in his image. It didn’t take the cultured Spaniard long to assert himself on Merseyside, as he established a fine connection with a certain local hero in Benitez’s engine room.
A wonderful long passer who boasted a threat from inexplicable ranges, Alonso was one of the Premier League’s best during his five-year stay.
Chelsea’s ‘Bison’ had long been earmarked as the missing piece to the Blues’ already stellar midfield at the start of Jose Mourinho’s reign.
The club made Essien their record signing in the summer of 2005, with the Ghanaian aiding Chelsea’s title defence in year one. A powerful midfielder who often unsettled opponents with his physicality, Essien was a proper box-to-box who also had a penchant for pulling off the spectacular.
Signed under the stewardship of Manuel Pellegrini in 2013, Fernandinho became the first great midfield enforcer of the Pep Guardiola era at Manchester City.
The canny Brazilian mastered the role bestowed upon him by the incoming Spanish manager, with Fernandinho functioning as the Cityzens’ lynchpin during their title successes of 2017/18 and 2018/19. A dynamic destroyer who served as an immense leader during his time at the Etihad.
Ince’s brilliance can be surmised by Inter’s interest and subsequent purchase of the Englishman at a time when Serie A was enjoying a golden era; harbouring many of the sport’s finest talents.
Ince enjoyed two Premier League spells either side of his calcio rendezvous. He’s best remembered for the bustling role he played for a dominant, counter-attacking Manchester United team at the start of the competition’s inception.
Ince was a two-time Premier League winner and named in the PFA Team of the Year on three occasions.
Man Utd supporters must be wondering how much better off they’d be under Erik ten Hag if they had this man offering serenity in the space haven that is the Red Devils’ midfield.
A masterful technician who offered so much in every phase, Carrick was cherished by the Old Trafford faithful having previously blossomed in east and north London with West Ham and Tottenham respectively.
Carrick racked up almost 500 league appearances by the time he hung up his boots, lifting five titles along the way.
You’ve got to be pretty good to have a role named after you.
Few midfielders have had a more profound impact on the Premier League than Makelele, yet the Frenchman was merely a master of keeping things simple. Makelele functioned at the base, mopped things up and distributed to those more capable in attacking areas.
Perhaps such a description is doing the former Chelsea star a disservice. He was an utterly vital cog for Mourinho’s Blues as they claimed back-to-back title triumphs.
Handsome and incredibly marketable? Sure, but Beckham could certainly play a bit, too.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has an otherworldly gift, but the Premier League is never going to see a more divine crosser of the ball than Becks. The English hero was almost always on the money, with his distinct technique merely adding to his fine aesthetic.
The epitome of an icon who had the knack of producing in the clutch for Fergie’s Red Devils before he became a ‘galactico’.
Highbury saw their precocious Spaniard blossom into an Arsenal skipper and one of the club’s great midfield operators of modern times. A move to Barcelona was stomached, but some have struggled to forgive Fabregas after he returned to the Premier League with Chelsea.
Once a dynamic playmaker who could carry and drive with the ball, the latter stages of Fabregas’ career were spent as a seasoned midfield controller. While he was ever so fun breaking through in north London, his best iteration arguably arrived at Stamford Bridge.
Who knows where this man will be on this list when he opts for pastures new (or calls it a career)?
Rodri is simply a rare breed of a midfielder: a cheat code. The lab has conjured up shirt-tucked-in menace. He combines the attributes of a stout holder, an imperious box-to-box, and guile-laden creator. He’s the man that simply doesn’t lose football matches.
The latter iterations of Guardiola’s all-conquering Cityzens have proven to be far meeker in Rodri’s absence.
Oh, how different the world would’ve been had Leicester opted against taking a punt on an undersized midfielder from Paris.
The Foxes spotted something the rest of the continent overlooked – or, more likely, never even caught a glimpse of – in Kante, but not even those who engineered his move from Ligue 2 Caen to the King Power could’ve foreshadowed the impact he’d have on British shores.
Within two years, Kante was a double Premier League champion with a pair of clubs. After aiding Leicester’s improbable charge of 2015/16, Kante emerged as the loveable Duracell bunny of Antonio Conte’s midfield at Chelsea.
There is and will only ever be one N’Golo Kante. The ultimate diamond in the rough.
Toure is a tough one to rank. At his very best, some would argue that the Premier League has never seen a more destructive but paradoxically elegant midfielder.
His 2013/14 campaign is one of the competition’s best by an individual, and the Ivorian is cherished in Sky Blue lands for ensuring City broke barriers before their maiden Premier League triumph in 2011/12.
Toure was simply glorious in full cry; one of few that could shine in pretty much every midfield function listed on Football Manager.
Keane kicked lumps out of folk and committed a few on-pitch sins, but the Irishman was no brute.
While he was revered for his energy, tenacity, and work ethic, Keane was a multi-faceted possession player, too. He could control and dictate, surge upfield, and contribute at crucial times in the final third.
Like so many greats, he evolved as his career progressed but his ability to lead never ceased. Many regard Keane as the Premier League’s greatest ever captain.
His Man Utd departure may have been messy, but the former Irish international won the lot (over and over again) at Old Trafford,
Already an established star at Valencia, Silva joined Man City in 2010 and would enjoy a fruitful decade-long career at the Etihad which returned 11 major honours.
A playmaker who starred under the tutelage of three managers, Silva, for his lengthy City tenure, was a perpetual key cog for the dominant Cityzens. The left-footed wizard ended his Premier League career with four league titles, 60 goals, and 93 assists – ranking seventh all-time.
His display at Old Trafford during City’s watershed 6-1 victory over their fiercest rivals has to be remembered as one of the Premier League’s very best individual displays.
We can classify Giggs as a wide midfielder, right? An electric wide man in his youth, the Welshman grew familiar with the centre of the pitch during his impressive twilight and seemingly never ceased in importance for the Red Devils.
Giggs can’t be touched on the longevity front, and it’s likely that his assist record of 162 will remain intact for a very, very long time.
Arsenal were defined by their technical mastery under Arsene Wenger after moving to the the Emirates, but the Frenchman’s early Gunners outfits were built around their physical dominance.
The arrival of a lean and gangly Vieira in 1996 proved key in facilitating Arsenal’s rise under Wenger, with the French enforcer taking to the English game like a fish to water.
Vieira combined power with guile to a devastating degree and his duels with Keane rank among the fiercest battles the competition’s ever seen. The Frenchman led Arsenal to their ‘Invincibles’ campaign of 2003/04, and the overwhelming majority of Gunners fans rank Vieira as the club’s greatest-ever midfielder.
The tiresome debate surrounding three special English midfielders of the same generation is about to be settled. In truth, the triumvirate are interchangeable. There are valid arguments for any of the ranking combinations.
We’ve opted for Scholes as the third best of the three, but hey, he’s still our fourth-greatest Premier League midfielder ever.
A serene controller during his final days, Scholes, during his pomp, was a box-crashing star who could pass the ball perhaps better than anyone England’s produced. He was revered by his rivals for a reason; serving as United’s midfield fulcrum for the best part of two decades.
Who cares if he couldn’t tackle for toffee?
Harry Redknapp certainly didn’t miss when it came to his assessment of Frank Lampard.
“Right to the very top,” that’s where a young Frank was heading according to the former West Ham manager. Redknapp knew there was something special within the gritty teenager, who’d go on to become the highest-scoring midfielder in Premier League history.
While Lampard was proficient from 12 yards, he was also a master of timing his runs into the box. He perhaps wasn’t the easiest on the eye in comparison to his rivals on this list, but very few usurp Lampard on the efficiency front.
He came to define the most successful period in Chelsea’s history following Roman Abramovich’s purchase of the Blues.
Sorry Scholes supporters and Frank fanatics, we’re Stevie G guys.
Yeah, yeah, I can here ya already. “Where’s his Premier League title?”. Let’s be rational here, fellas. Gerrard, for much of his Premier League career, carried functional and occasionally mediocre Liverpool teams. He was Liverpool.
While he did have the odd standout partner in crime, stopping the Reds from source (Gerrard) was the primary goal of opponents. The Scouse icon could pelt it from 50 yards and hit switches of play in his sleep; he was as powerful as they come in the middle of the park.
Premier League glory may have eluded him, but Lampard or Scholes could not have achieved what Gerrard did in those Liverpool sides.
No, we’re not being blinkered by the present. De Bruyne has simply done enough to be regarded as the Premier League’s greatest-ever midfielder.
Once discarded and left out to dry by Mourinho in west London, a vengeful De Bruyne returned with plenty to prove in 2015. The Belgian has had a chip on his shoulder since, although he’s taken his ‘proving Jose wrong’ thing a little too far.
A destructive, powerful creator who’s proven himself to be utterly devastating from his favoured right inside channel, De Bruyne has the numbers and honours to place at the very top of this list.
His perpetual brilliance has been ever so key in City’s sustained success under Guardiola.
