New Year's Day is often a time for reflection, an opportunity to look back on what has been and consider what needs to change going forward. Such analysis usually takes place on a personal level, but there's no reason why it shouldn't be applied to the world of football too.
Sports fans often have a habit of looking at the past with rose-tinted glasses, claiming athletes were better, tougher, more naturally talented and more charismatic in bygone eras. It's negative recency bias - an inverted snobbery towards the here and now.
So GIVEMESPORT want to take a moment to celebrate those who have established themselves as iconic figures within football over the last ten years, not necessarily at the peak of their powers at this very moment, but not yet benefiting from glorification of the past either.
We look at the five greatest British footballers of the last ten years (2016 to 2015).
5. Andy Robertson
Andy Robertson celebrating after a Liverpool goal
Liverpool snapped up Robertson in 2017 from relegated Hull City and not everybody was immediately convinced that it was £8m well-spent. But the Scotland international quickly won over his doubters by establishing himself as Liverpool's first-choice left-back.
Operating in tandem with Trent Alexander-Arnold on the opposite flank, Robertson helped re-define expectations of full-backs in his era, providing an incredible twelve assists during the 2019/20 season when Liverpool won their first Premier League title. Robertson would go on to become the top-assisting defender in the competition's history.
Robertson won the Premier League with the Reds once again last season, while he has also won the FA Cup, two League Cups and the Champions League during his time at Anfield.
4. Kyle Walker
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It is very difficult to consistently enjoy success across a ten-year period but Kyle Walker has come the closest to doing so of any British player. Going back to 2016, Walker's dynamism from right-back was an integral component of Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham side that challenged Leicester City for the Premier League title and rivaled Chelsea for the English crown the season after.
He then moved to Manchester City and became Pep Guardiola's first-choice right-back, often operating in a unique inverted full-back role that was crucial to the Spaniard's game-plan and highlighted his tactical versatility. Walker won six Premier League titles at City, as well as two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League.
Meanwhile, for England he was a crucial part of the back-three Gareth Southgate played at the 2018 World Cup, helping England to reach the semi-finals and kickstart their turnaround at international tournaments. He was also in the squads that reached the final of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
3. Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham
The only British footballer to win the Golden Boy award or finish in the top three of the Ballon d'Or over the last ten years, it was impossible to deny Jude Bellingham a place on this list.
English footballers often struggle to make an impact abroad but that's not the case with Bellingham, who shined at Borussia Dortmund before completing a move to Real Madrid in 2023.
In his first season at the Bernabeu, Bellingham scored 23 goals across all competitions, often operating as a false centre-forward, to help the Spanish giants win the Champions League and La Liga.
He was also an integral part of the England side that reached the final of Euro 2024 and was subsequently named as England's Player of the Year for last season.
2. Harry Kane
Harry Kane celebrating after scoring a brace for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League against Chelsea
Wayne Rooney named Harry Kane as England's greatest ever striker and it's hard to disagree with that assessment. Although others have achieved more in terms of silverware - Kane only won his first ever trophy last season in the form of the Bundesliga title - his scoring record over the last ten years has been nothing short of ridiculous.
Going from the start of the 2016/17 season, Kane has scored over 300 goals at club level. Not that his qualities are limited to simply finding the net; the former Tottenham star was uniquely talented in his ability to drop into midfield and distribute the ball to his wingers from deep positions, and he has often hit double figures for assists too.
Kane has been the driving force behind England's turnaround on the international stage during the last ten years and since 2016 has notched 76 goals for the Three Lions, including 15 at major tournaments.
1. Gareth Bale
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Although Gareth Bale's rise to prominence came a little before our 2016 starting point, and he began to enter his decline some six years ago, it is ultimately very difficult to overlook a player who has won four Champions League titles during that time period for top spot.
Not only that, but Bale also scored perhaps the most iconic Champions League goal of all time in 2018 when he came off the bench to net a legendary bicycle kick beyond a helpless Loris Karius, before putting the game beyond doubt by completing a brace in the dying minutes.
Bale proved talismanic as Wales performed far beyond expectations to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and carried on playing, and scoring goals, for his country until 2022.
After a loan spell back at Tottenham and a short-lived sint in the MLS, Bale retired from football in 2023 and is remembered as one of the greatest British footballers of all time.