As we approach the start of the 2024-25 Premier League season, NetBet has decided to have a go at picking the greatest XI to have graced the English top flight since 1992-93.
Our picks will not satisfy everyone, but that is the beauty of a footballing opinion.
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Let’s begin…
Formation: 4-4-2
Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
Leaving out Manchester United icon Peter Schmeichel is a bold call, but Cech’s stats are simply too good to ignore.
The ex-Chelsea and Arsenal stopper leads the way for clean sheets in Premier League history with 202, 35 more than David James in second place.
Right-Back: Kyle Walker
No Gary Neville? That is right! Six-time Premier League winner Kyle Walker gets the nod thanks to his consistently brilliant displays at Manchester City.
A superb defender who can also contribute in the final third, Walker’s lightning pace just gives him the edge over his rivals in the position.
Centre-Back: John Terry
In his pomp, Chelsea legend John Terry was a bonafide colossus at the back, helping the Blues win five Premier League titles.
A no-nonsense defender by trade, Terry also chipped in with 41 goals – a ridiculous record for a centre-back.
Centre-Back: Rio Ferdinand
It was hard to pick between Ferdinand and his ex-Manchester United colleague Nemanja Vidic, but in the end we went with the former.
Ferdinand was a ball-playing defender before it became the norm, while his pace and tenacity made him a nightmare opponent for any striker.
Left-Back: Ashley Cole
Perhaps the easiest choice in the XI, Cole is in the mix to be labelled the greatest left-back in history.
Exceptionally gifted in all departments, he was a key component in dominant Arsenal and Chelsea sides in the 2000s and 2010s.
Right Midfield: Mohamed Salah
The only active Premier League player to make the cut four our star-studded XI – and deservedly so.
Liverpool icon Salah has been the hallmark of consistent brilliance, boasting a quite outstanding record of 157 goals and 69 assists in 263 appearances. Out-and-out strikers only dream of achieving those numbers.
Centre Midfield: Patrick Vieira
This is where it gets tricky, with so many midfielders to choose from – including the great Roy Keane. However, we have opted for Arsenal legend Vieira, part of the famous 2003-04 Invincibles.
Vieira could do it all. He could act as the enforcer thanks to his size and defensive skills but could also control the tempo of matches and cut through teams with lung-busting runs. In his prime, few got anywhere near him.
Centre Midfield: Steven Gerrard
Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Kevin De Bruyne would all be worthy of this spot too, but Gerrard just about gets our vote.
Liverpool’s shining light during many years of mediocrity, Gerrard did not really have a single weakness and it is a crying shame that he never got his hands on the Premier League trophy.
Left Midfield: Cristiano Ronaldo
Who else, eh? Ronaldo’s first spell at Manchester United is the stuff of legend. He changed the game and remains the last Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or, way back in 2008.
Tricks, flicks, sensational free-kicks and goals aplenty, Ronaldo is the greatest footballing weapon ever created by Sir Alex Ferguson – and that is saying something.
Striker: Alan Shearer
The record Premier League goalscorer by a considerable distance, so it is impossible to leave him out.
Shearer scored 260 times for Blackburn and Newcastle between 1992 and 2006, a total that will not be matched for many, many years.
Striker: Thierry Henry
Heralded by many as the Premier League’s finest ever footballer, Henry gave defenders up and down England sleepless nights during his time at Arsenal.
Tall, quick, graceful and able to finish chances from seemingly anywhere, the Frenchman won the division’s Golden Boot a record four times, ending with 175 goals in total.
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