Top 16 Best U.K. Soccer Players Of All Time

Sports fans gather round for our list of the top 16 best U.K. soccer players of all time and see if your favorite player makes the cut.

Growing up, there was no place I’d rather be than on the field chasing a soccer ball. I spent many years playing the sport competitively, but don’t fin too much time these days to play. While I also don’t typically watch the sport on television, there’s nothing like watching an intense soccer match in person. Usually, when I’m traveling around Europe, I will try to fit a match into my schedule because the fans are so into the games. The energy is electric when you’re in one of those stadiums.

I’ve never been to England, so I haven’t had a chance to catch a game there yet, but I’m sure it wouldn’t disappoint. The country has a number of famous football clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to name a few. Currently, the best English football players 2017 are Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, Bournemouth’s Steve Cook, and Burnley’s Ben Mee according to the Guardian. If these players keep it up, they could be well on their way to a chance on the list of top ten England football players of all time, as they are already the best current English football players. Interestingly enough, none of those players were mentioned on the lists we saw of best English football players 2016.

Football (or Soccer if you’re in the U.S.) is a very popular sport around the world, especially in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America. Many around the world consider soccer to be the most popular sport of all. Naturally, a lot of sentiment is involved in making such a list. Before we begin, it should be mentioned that if you do not see the name of your favorite English soccer player in the list, that does not mean he is not worthy of being on the list, it’s just that the short premise just does not allow us to incorporate all the most decorated English football players.

Just determining a top 10 all time english players was tough enough, which is part of why we had to stretch it out to 16. However, we did manage to find quite a few similar lists from reliable sources on the internet, and as you can expect the lists were not consistent when it came to ranking. Although nearly the same names were being mentioned, their rankings were different. That is to be expected, as every expert has their own opinion, and that reflects in the rankings. We took a stab at ranking these highly regarded players based on relevant expert opinions and their career sheets. For example, we considered the number of goals when ranking a striker and a clean record from defenders. We also considered the clubs they played in, as being part of a highly reputed club tells a lot. As you can imagine, being subjective is not that easy when it comes to ranking best athletes of all time. To be fair, anyone who made it onto the list, had the potential to become the best. The online resources we used for this article are The Telegraph, Barry Hugman’s Footballers, Goal, RSSSF and several other similar websites.

Now that said, let’s get our list of top 16 best U.K. soccer players of all time, started.

16. John Barnes

We are starting our list off with John Barnes. Barnes’ best games were between the 80s and early 90s when he played for Watford and Liverpool respectively. He played as the left winger, and with his sheer skill and agility, he won over the hearts of millions of fans and his peers alike. Unfortunately, in 1992, he injured his Achilles tendon, and that definitely hurt his career. Although he made a swift recovery, his performance was never the same. Perhaps, he would have been ranked much higher if not for his injury.

15. Kevin Keegan

When it comes to playing as a forward, being swift, aggressive and crafty is a must. Kevin Keegan one of the top 16 best English soccer players of all time, can proudly say that he was all of that and more. He was awarded European footballer of the year, twice, and not many soccer players have that honor. Kevin Keegan was perhaps the best soccer player of his generation, and after he retired from professional football, he went on to manage pro teams and inspired greatness. He played for several teams, most notably, Liverpool and Hamburger SV and of course he played with the National team of England.

14. Gordon Banks

Arguably Gordon Banks was the greatest English goalkeeper ever. His almost acrobatic saves and rock hard defense have even frustrated soccer demigods like Pele. His remarkable career and almost inhuman acrobatics have earned him a spot on our list. Being named the FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year on six occasions is no easy feat, and there are more awards to his name as well.

13. Steven Gerrard 

We aew continuing our list of top 16 best English soccer players of all time with Steven Gerrard that embodies the ideal midfielder. Dependable, resourceful and intrepid in the face of overwhelming odds. Of course, he is only human, and of course, he had his fair share of bad games. But in the end, it has to be said that his career has been a rather remarkable one. The soccer legend Pele considered him to be the world’s best player at one point and he was public about it, which is saying a lot.

12. Duncan Edwards

When your teammates praise you, it is good, but when your opponents praise you that is something amazing. And Duncan Edwards has been praised by his peers, colleagues and his opponents alike. He merely played 18 international matches in his rather brief career. At the age of 21, he died in an unfortunate plane crash that also claimed 7 of his teammate’s lives. If he were alive, many speculate he might have surpassed even the best soccer players in the world, let alone England.

11. Paul Gascoigne

Next on our list of top 16 best English soccer players of all time is Paul Gascoigne, also more popularly known by his nickname “Gazza” who was an English midfielder. Although he did not win the World Cup for England, he won numerous trophies and leagues for the clubs in which he played. According to the National Football Museum, he is the most naturally gifted English midfielder of his generation, and we would like to echo that sentiment with sincerity and respect.

10. Gary Lineker

Let’s just start by mentioning the names of the clubs he played for, which are Leicester, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham. If you are even remotely familiar with the soccer scene in Europe, then you can already tell that how awesome he was. Apart from clubs, he also played for England as well. He played 80 games for England, and in those 80 games, he scored 48 goals, which is beyond impressive.

9. Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is one of the youngest players to make it into our list of top 16 best English soccer players of all time. He is like the sniper of the soccer world. He is extremely accurate and deadly with his long-distance goal shots. Although he primarily plays for Real Madrid, he is an Englishman and has earned his spot on every soccer player list of any description.

8. Sir Tom Finney

Sir Tom Finney is well known for his career-long exploits for his league club, Preston North End. Yes, he did not play a single game under any other clubs banner. All his near 600 games are between Preston North End and the England national team. He appeared in 76 matches for the England national team and scored an impressive 36 goals for England. He played as a winger for most of his career. He received numerous awards and adulation from his fans for his amazing performances throughout his career. Let’s se who is next on the list of top 16 best English soccer players of all time.

7. Geoff Hurst

Geoff Hurst was a goal machine for England national team. When a person scores a hat-trick in the world cup finals, what else can we add to that? Thanks to his hat-trick in the 1966 world cup, England defeated Germany 4-2 and. Another reason why Geoff Hurst will always be on any best English footballer list is that the 1966 world cup victory was England’s first and only FIFA world cup victory so far.

6. Wayne Rooney

Okay, now before you get mad at us for putting Rooney at number 6 on our list of top 16 best English soccer players of all time, please let us explain. He is the record goalscorer for England, he is the player with one of the highest appearances, and yes, he has won England Player of the Year four times. He has also been the Captain of the England national team and his club Manchester United. However, he is also the reddest carded player for England as well. This is why we could not put him any higher on the list.

5. John Charles

John Charles has been regarded as one of the best all-round soccer player ever produced by England. He is well known for his extraordinary strike rate of 93 goals in 155 matches, while he was playing for Juventus. He may not have been the greatest ever English striker, but he came very close. Moreover, he could pretty much play any role as long, thanks to his extraordinary endurance, technique, and skills.

4. Sir Stanley Matthews

When your peers call you “The Wizard of the Dribble” and “The Magician”, that means you are doing something right, and people are finding it hard to believe even after they see it with their own eyes. Sir Stanley Matthews is often regarded as the best English soccer player ever, and for very good reasons. He is the only player to have been knighted before his retirement from football. He was also the first soccer player to win both of the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year awards.

3. Bobby Moore

We talked about Geoff Hurst before, the man who scored a hat-trick in world cup finals. But now it is time to talk about the man who defended England against Germany that fateful day. The man was Bobby Moore, our number three on the list of top 16 best English soccer players of all time, considered by many to be the best defender ever. He assumed the role of the captain for England at only age 22. But his greatest success was to come later, precisely in the world cup of 1966, an achievement that England has never been able to repeat since.

2. George Best

If you are an avid soccer fan, you do not need anymore introduction. Well, for the rest of us, let’s just start by saying George Best retired prematurely when he was only 28, and yet here he is in the second spot of our list. He has won numerous commendations and awards, for his brief career. He has been voted 8th in the World Soccer 100 greatest football players of the 20th Century, and he has also been voted 16th in the IFFHS (The International Federation of Football History & Statistics) World Player of the Century elections in 1999. He is the one who made dribbling an art form.

1. Sir Bobby Charlton

Being a great goal scorer is rather a commonplace when you talk about the best soccer players ever. Sir Bobby Charlton was a great scorer with a total of 49 goals for England and 249 for Manchester United during his career. However, what makes him different from the other goal scorers in this list is that he was also a scorer of great goals. He would never let an opportunity go, despite how slim the chances of scoring a goal may be. He is definitely the best midfielder ever to play for England, if not the world. He is one of the main reasons England won the world cup back in 1966.

This wraps it up for our list of top 16 best U.K. soccer players of all time.