The Premier League has become widely regarded as the most competitive, challenging and entertaining top flight in world football since it was created in 1992. It has been home to some of the beautiful game's greatest talents over the last 33 years.
At this point, we are all familiar with the arguments and candidates when naming the greatest Premier League players of all time. That is to say, players who've had the greatest impact on the competition itself, with longevity, achievements and ability all key factors.
But what about the greatest players to simply feature in the division? We've decided to look at the most talented Premier League players of all time - regardless of whether their best years were in the Premier League or somewhere else - purely based on their quality and achievements within the game.
30 Virgil van Dijk
Liverpool
Virgil van Dijk
There have been many exceptional centre-backs in the Premier League but none have combined physical prowess, defensive awareness and quality on the ball in quite the same way as Virgil van Dijk.
At 6 foot 5, the Dutch defender is a genuine man-mountain, and yet his playing style is almost effortlessly elegant - never flustered and technically superb. Throw in his leadership qualities as Liverpool's captain and his knack for scoring important goals at important times, and Van Dijk is very much the complete centre-half, one who just edges out some of his predecessors like Rio Ferdinand and John Terry.
During his time at Liverpool, Van Dijk has won a Premier League title, a Champions League title, an FA Cup and an EFL Cup, while featuring in the PFA Team of the Season on four occasions.
29 Didier Deschamps
Chelsea
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Didier Deschamps only spent a brief season at Chelsea, which ended with winning the 1999/00 FA Cup before departing for Valencia. Nonetheless, Deschamps remains one of the best defensive midfielders of all time, affectionately nicknamed 'the water-carrier', and enjoyed successful spells in France, Italy, England and Spain throughout his career.
He won the Champions League with both Marseille and Juventus, as well as their respective domestic titles. But his crowning moment came on the international scene when he captained France to the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship.
Deschamps would later repeat one of those feats as a manager, having been in the dugout for France's 2018 World Cup win.
28 Ashley Cole
Arsenal, Chelsea
Ashley Cole playing for Chelsea.
This list in general isn't especially defender-friendly, working on the premise that those with the most talent tend to operate a little higher up the pitch. However, an exception is made for Ashley Cole who was unquestionably the best left-back in the world for a significant period of his career, until Marcelo began to rival him at Real Madrid.
Unlike the offensive-minded Brazilian, however, Cole developed into a completely well-rounded full-back during his time at Chelsea, capable of creating chances by getting to the byline on the overlap, but also of pulling off the most incredible and acrobatic of goal-line clearances.
Cole kept Cristiano Ronaldo in his pocket on more than one occasion and is one of the greatest left-backs in football history.
27 Bastien Schweinsteiger
Manchester United
Bastian Schweinsteiger in action for Manchester United
By the time Bastien Schweinsteiger got to the Premier League, he couldn't really cope with the intensity of it. Regardless, there's no doubt he's one of the greatest footballers Germany has ever produced, proving highly effective in a number of different midfield roles throughout his career.
In his younger years, Schweinsteiger predominantly operated as a wide midfielder. But he quickly transitioned into more central roles where his impeccable technique was matched by a relentless engine and acute tactical understanding of the game.
Joachim Lowe referred to him as 'the brain' of the German national team which won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, while at club level Schweinsteiger won eight Bundesliga titles and the 2012/13 Champions League.
For United, Schweinsteiger won the FA Cup but failed to hold down a consistent role in the team. He left midway through the following season, joining Chicago Fire in the MLS.
26 N'Golo Kante
Leicester City, Chelsea
N'golo Kante lifting the Champions League-1
N'Golo Kante is by no means one of the most technically gifted players to ever grace the Premier League, in which case his level of talent can be debated. Nonetheless, the Frenchman's energy levels on the pitch remain so uniquely high that it gave his teams an incredible advantage over the opposition. Kante genuinely did two players' worth of running in the middle of the park, or at least used his running so effectively that it appeared as much.
That quality, combined with the fact he was an excellent ball-winner and could deliver incisive long-range passes, allowed his team-mates to truly flourish. It's no coincidence that he was at the heart of the Leicester City team that won the Premier League in 2015/16, the Chelsea team that won it a year later and the France team that lifted the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He became a little less effective by the time the Blues won the Champions League two years later, but still played the full ninety minutes as his side beat Manchester City 1-0.
25 Paul Gascoigne
Middlesbrough, Everton
Paul Gascoigne and England's away shirt at Euro 1996
The Premier League never got to witness Paul Gascoigne in his full glory - he was never quite the same after moving to Lazio the summer before the newly-conceived version of the English top flight got underway.
Nonetheless, Gazza is widely regarded as one of English football's greatest magicians, and was one of the few players to continually excel on the international stage for the Three Lions throughout the 1990s.
Alcoholism, drug problems and mental illness meant the Paul Gascoigne who played for Middlesbrough and Everton in the Premier League was very different from the player who'd come fourth in the 1990 Ballon d'Or and twice been named in the PFA Player of the Year prior to the Premier League's inception.
Nonetheless, he makes the list for being a truly exceptional, uniquely talented footballer who got a brief taste of the Premier League era.
24 Arjen Robben
Chelsea
Arjen Robben Chelsea
Arjen Robben's time at Chelsea was relatively short-lived, but he nonetheless won back-to-back Premier League titles with the Blues as part of Jose Mourinho's all-conquering side. The Dutch winger claimed a place in the PFA Team of the Year and was quickly gaining a reputation for being one of the most exciting youngsters in Europe - to such an extent that Real Madrid eventually came calling.
It didn't work out for Robben at the Bernabeu where he lasted just two seasons. But the Netherlands legend then joined Bayern Munich and began playing on the opposite side of the pitch, where his left foot's wicked crossing ability suddenly transferred into deadly long-range finishing.
Robben quickly emerged as one of the top attackers in world football and would go on to score 144 goals in 309 appearances for the German giants, winning eight Bundesliga titles and the 2012-13 Champions League. He also reached the World Cup final with the Netherlands in 2010 and won the third-place playoff in 2014.
23 Michael Ballack
Chelsea
Ballack
Michael Ballack was one of the best midfielders of his generation and although many Premier League fans were left slightly underwhelmed by the more understated role he took in Chelsea's midfield upon joining them from Bayern Munich, that in itself was an acknowledgment of his all-round ability and class.
Indeed, Ballack was a lung-bursting, goalscoring midfielder for Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and the German national team. But at Chelsea, he played almost as an anchorman, usually behind Frank Lampard and Michael Essien in midfield.
The Premier League perhaps never witnessed peak Ballack but they still got a very formidable version of him, who won the Premier League and three FA Cups during his time at Chelsea. In typical Ballack style, however, his Blues career was perhaps remembered more for what he missed out on, as Chelsea fell short to Manchester United in the 2007/08 Champions League final and injuries often prevented him from featuring in many cup finals.
22 Sergio Aguero
Manchester City
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates
Sergio Aguero produced one of the most iconic moments in Premier League history when he scored the stoppage-time winner against QPR that saw Manchester City win their first ever Premier League title on goal difference, but he's also one of the greatest strikers the competition has ever seen.
Despite being often hindered by injuries, Aguero's last season at City was just the second in which he failed to score at least 15 Premier League goals. He won the Golden Boot during the 2014-15 season and helped fire the Citizens to five Premier League titles, while he also won the 2021 Copa America with Argentina.
Aguero was part No.9 and part No.10, able to play as an out-and-out poacher or drop behind another centre-forward and link with the midfield, allowing City to often play him with a series of strike partners, including Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo.
Injury problems prevented Aguero from being an even more iconic goalscorer, while he was robbed of an Indian summer after moving to Barcelona after suffering irregularities with his heart. But he rarely failed to deliver when available and was a truly special talent.
21 Gareth Bale
Tottenham Hotspur
paul scholes gareth bale
Gareth Bale was one of the most talented attacking players of his generation and throughout his time at Tottenham transformed from the club's second-choice left-back to one of the most feared forwards in the world.
Bale's technical ability was never in doubt having emerged as something of a teenage dead-ball expert at Southampton. But a change in position and rapid physical development turned him into a monstrous attacker who embarrassed defenders across the Premier League and Europe, most notably Inter Milan right-back Maicon.
Bale's evolution climaxed with 21 goals in his final Premier League season, many being spectacularly unstoppable, leading to a world-record move to Real Madrid. With Los Blancos, Bale won five Champions League titles, his two goals in the 2017/18 final marking one of the greatest cup final performances in the competition's history.
20 Luis Suarez
Liverpool
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez at his best was simply unstoppable, as Norwich City often discovered during the Uruguayan striker's time at Liverpool. Suarez recorded an incredible 12 goals and two assists in just six appearances versus the Canaries, scoring hat-tricks at Carrow Road in consecutive seasons, which illustrates just how dominant he was during his final two seasons at Liverpool.
Suarez couldn't quite fire the Reds to the title in 2013/14 when his partnership with Daniel Sturridge carved up the rest of the division, but that year he finished up with the first of two career Golden Shoes, as well as winning the PFA Player of the Year award.
Suarez would move onto Barcelona where he refined his game to become less of a bombarding all-round attacking threat and more of a clinical, opportunist finisher. At the Nou Camp he scored 198 goals in 283 appearances, winning four La Liga titles and the 2014/15 Champions League.
19 Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City
Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne adjusts his captain's armband
Kevin De Bruyne is perhaps the cleanest striker of a ball the Premier League has ever witnessed. Technically superb in both quality and consistency of deliveries, he's blessed with Beckham-esque ability from dead-ball situations, and yet the expressiveness and fluidity of Paul Scholes in open play.
The Belgian maestro has won the Premier League's Playmaker of the Season award on three separate occasions, twice been named PFA Player of the Season and been included in the PFA Team of the season five times.
He's also helped City to six Premier League titles and the 2022/23 Champions League title, as well as winning the third-place playoff with Belgium at the 2018 World Cup.
De Bruyne's career has been winding down in recent years with injuries clearly getting the better of him, but at his peak he was arguably the best midfielder in the world.
18 Ryan Giggs
Manchester United
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Longevity itself is an immense ability and while Ryan Giggs enjoyed a sustained period of being among the best wingers in the world, it was his ability to continually reinvent and modify his game as he aged that really allowed him to stand the test of time.
Giggs started out as an energetic, lightening-quick winger with an eye for spectacular solo goals, most notably his famous meandering run against Arsenal in the FA Cup. But as he became older and wiser, Giggs' game became more about technical proficiency and creative intelligence than running opposing defenders into the ground.
Giggs won a staggering 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two Champions League titles, and was given a place in the PFA Team of the Century. His PFA Team of the Year inclusions span from 1992/93 to 2008/09, which illustrates how long he was at the very top of the game for.
17 Steven Gerrard
Liverpool
Steven Gerrard Liverpool UEFA Champions League
Steven Gerrard was a truly complete player who could do just about everything on a football pitch and epitomised the English style of play during the 2000s - aggressive, direct, lung-bursting and displaying an inherent refusal to give up.
In fact, Gerrard dragged an often underwhelming Liverpool team kicking and screaming to regular Champions League qualification and cup final victories, his most famous being the three-goal comeback against AC Milan to win the 2005 Champions League, and the Reds' victory over West Ham in the FA Cup final the following year.
Gerrard could play in any midfield role, and for that matter probably any position on the pitch outside of goalkeeper, and has a staggering eight inclusions in the PFA Team of the Year. He also came third in the 2005 Ballon d'Or.
16 Eden Hazard
Chelsea
Eden Hazard vs Tottenham
Possibly the most sporadic talent on this list and yet in terms of natural ability, Eden Hazard might well be the most gifted player to ever feature in the Premier League. Hazard spent seven seasons at Stamford Bridge and was named in the PFA Team of the Season for four of them, while winning the title itself on two occasions.
But more than his achievements was Hazard's supremely natural style of play. He was virtually impossible to tackle and while he scored plenty of goals, netting 110 in 352 during his time at Chelsea, he actually much preferred creating chances for others and ended up laying on 85 assists.
He was a talismanic entity for the west Londoners and had they been more competitive in Europe during the Belgian's time there, Hazard's achievements may have been better recognised in the Ballon d'Or rankings. Incredibly, he never made the top three.
15 Jurgen Klinsmann
Tottenham Hotspur
Jurgen Klinsmann celebrates scoring for Tottenham Hotspur against Everton.
Jurgen Klinsmann only spent one-and-a-half seasons in the Premier League but delivered some of his most potent attacking returns for Tottenham and was widely considered to be one of the best strikers of his era.
The German forward signed for the Lilywhites from Monaco in 1994 and notched 29 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions, including 20 strikes in the Premier League. He was so impressive that at the end of the season, Bayern Munich came calling and Klinsmann answered the call to represent the club most synonymous with his home country.
Klinsmann was named FWA Footballer of the Year and came second in the 1995 Ballon d'Or, adding to a CV that already included the 1990 World Cup. Klinsmann came back to Spurs on loan at the tail-end of his career, scoring nine times to fend off fears of relegation during the 1997-98 season.
14 Dennis Bergkamp
Arsenal
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Dennis Bergkamp was simply a phenomenal all-round footballer whose understanding of the game was matched by immense technical ability. He scored arguably the greatest goal in Premier League history by skinning Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas inside the box, while he also scored one of international football's greatest goals when he controlled a 60-yard pass and smashed home a volley at an acute angle against Argentina in the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup.
Bergkamp's only limitation was a fear of flying which limited his involvement for Arsenal around European fixtures. Nonetheless, he proved the perfect strike partner for Thierry Henry, with the pair firing Arsenal to the Premier League title undefeated during the iconic 2003/04 Invincibles season.
Part No.8, No.9 and No.10, Bergkamp could do it all and was even notorious for having a dirty streak.
13 Alan Shearer
Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United
alan shearer newcastle
Alan Shearer is the greatest goalscorer in Premier League history and became the first player to score at least 100 goals in the competition for two separate clubs - Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
The epitome of the old-fashioned English centre-forward, Shearer was physical, aggressive and direct in style, and was an incredible finisher in front of goal. His defining gift was once described as being able to 'shoot the ball very, very hard and very, very accurately', which may seem like a slightly redactive point of view, but also perfectly sums up Shearer's game.
The now-MOTD pundit fired Blackburn Rovers to the title in 1994/95 and while he couldn't repeat the feat with Newcastle, he scored at least twenty goals during four of his ten seasons on Tyneside, and at least ten in a further three.
12 George Weah
Chelsea, Manchester City
George Weah playing for Liberia.
George Weah was well past his best when he eventually turned up in the Premier League but is unquestionably one of the most talented footballers to have ever featured in the competition, having won the 1995 Ballon d'Or.
At that time, Weah was the best forward in the world and demonstrated as much with Monaco, AC Milan and PSG, for whom he won domestic cups and league titles. Weah would also represent his country, Liberia, on 75 occasions.
The winger spent the tail-end of his career at Chelsea and Manchester City, although his Premier League stint was ultimately quite forgettable. For both clubs he made a combined 18 appearances, scoring four goals, before returning to France.
11 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Manchester United
Zlatan Ibrahimovich
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most iconic strikers of all time, not just for his footballing ability but also his shamelessly self-centred approach to life.
The iconic Swede spent a single full season at Manchester United and registered 28 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions, helping the Red Devils win a League Cup and Europa League double. The following season he became the first player to represent seven different clubs in the Champions League, although a serious injury from the campaign prior meant it was far less successful, and he quietly left for the MLS by mutual consent in 2018.
Nonetheless, there's no doubt Ibrahimovic is one of the greatest players to feature in the Premier League. Although he has never won football's two greatest prizes - the Champions League or the World Cup - he has been an exceptional goalscorer in the Netherlands, Italy, France and Spain, while delighting fans with his unique mixture of physical dominance and individualist creativity.