10 great players who have not won the Premier League title

Winning the English Premier League is considered a big honour in the footballing world due to the sheer difficulty of doing so as the league is the most competitive in Europe, not to mention the fame and wealth associated with it.Over the years, 23 different clubs have been crowned Champions of the English top flight. However, after it was renamed the Premier League, only five clubs have won the competition, namely Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers.Many big clubs have routinely missed out on the trophy and hence many famous and notable players are part of this list, having either left the country or hung their boots up without lifting the prestigious trophy. Here is a list of the top 10 footballers to have not won the Premier League. Honourable mentions: Sami Hyppia, Shay Given, Luis Suarez, Steve McManaman and Gareth BaleNote: Cesc Fabregas has not been considered for this list based on the assumption that he will win the title with Chelsea this season.

#10 Robbie Fowler

Robbie Fowler or “God” as he is nicknamed by the Liverpool fans is up there among Liverpool’s greatest strikers.

He is best remembered for his time at Liverpool and is the sixth highest goal scorer in the history of the Premier League, the highest scorer for Liverpool in the Premier League era and still holds the record for the fastest Premier League hat-trick, which he pulled off in 4 minutes and 33 seconds against Arsenal.

In addition to Liverpool, Fowler tried his luck in the Premier League with Leeds United as well as Manchester City before he returned to Merseyside once again.

The former England International has won honours, all of them with Liverpool, which include the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the FA Charity Shield.

#9 Brad Friedel

At the end of the ongoing season, Brad Friedel will be 44 years old and will have completed 18 years of football in the Premier League and that alone is more than the entire playing career of many players.

Friedel came to the Premier League in 1997 when he joined Liverpool, but the American spent much of his playing time with the Reds as their reserve keeper. After leaving Liverpool , he moved to Blackburn Rovers and then Aston Villa and is now finally at Tottenham Hotspur.

The shot stopper holds the record of having the most number of consecutive appearances in the Premier League, a run which was ended only by the arrival of Hugo Lloris at Tottenham.

Even though Friedel has spent so many years in England with different clubs, he only has a League Cup that he won with Blackburn in 2002 to show for it.

#8 Fernando Torres

There was a time when Fernando Torres was considered to be the best striker in the game and his name alone would strike fear into the minds of opposition defenders.

The Spaniard joined Liverpool in 2007 when he was among one of the most coveted players in Europe and he spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Reds. His time with Liverpool was incredibly successful on a personal level, but he never won a trophy with the Reds. The closest he came to winning something with Liverpool was when they finished runners-up in the League in 2009.

On transfer deadline day in January in 2011, Torres left Liverpool and joined rivals Chelsea, but following this move, the Torres of Liverpool days was never seen again. He was unlucky with Chelsea as well, as the Blues finished runners-up in the League in his first season.

He did win the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the FA Cup with Chelsea, but despite playing for two of the biggest clubs in England over seven seasons, he never won the league title.

#7 Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher never received enough praise as a defender during his playing days because of other quality English center-backs like John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, nor did he get enough attention as a Liverpool legend due to the presence of Steven Gerrard in the same side.

Carragher was a very good centre-back who had great ability to read the game and put in crunching tackles and he has won all possible trophies barring the Premier League during his illustrious Liverpool career.

He retired from professional football at the end of the 2012/13 season and in the following season Liverpool finished second in the league after letting their lead slip towards the end of the season.

During this season, it was Liverpool’s defense which failed them for the majority of the season and so there are some who argue that Liverpool may have secured that ever elusive Premier League trophy had Carragher been part of their defense for one more year.

#6 Matt Le Tissier

Matt Le Tissier has to be one of the most underrated British players and it is a big deal because the British media have always had a way of overhyping their players.

Le Tissier spent his entire playing career with Southampton despite interest from clubs like Spurs and Chelsea and ended his career as the second highest scorer for the Saints. He was the PFA Young Player of the Year award winner in 1990 and was the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier league.

Le Tessier or “Le God” as he is called by Southampton supporters, is considered to be one of the best if not the best penalty specialists the league has ever seen as he scored from 47 out of the 48 kicks he had taken.

His love for Southampton was far more important to him than winning trophies and that’s why when he hung up his boots in 2002, he bid farewell to professional football with no winner’s medal to his name.

#5 Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso is considered to be one of the best midfielders in the modern game and is still at the top of his game and so it is possible that the former Liverpool hero can still lift the Premier League trophy.

Alonso was among Rafael Benitez’s first Liverpool recruits in 2004 and he went on to lift the UEFA Champions League in his debut season. The Spaniard spent five seasons with Liverpool, during which he won several trophies and in his last season with the Reds, they came close to breaking the barren run of no league titles, but eventually finished second.

The 33-year-old has won a League title in Spain after leaving England and is now close to winning a league title in Germany as well, but it is unlikely that he will realize his dream of winning one in England and even if he returns to Premier League, knowing Alonso’s love for Liverpool, it will only be to the Merseyside club.

#4 Marcel Desailly

French legend Marcel Desailly was part of the Chelsea team for six years, from 1998 to 2014, during which time he made 198 appearances for them.

The centre-back was known for his composure on the ball, and his positional sense and interceptions were second to none. While at Chelsea, he won major national team honours with France, securing both the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and the Euros in 2000.

Desailly was named in both the Premier League Overseas Team of the Decade (1992/93-2001/02) and the Premier League Overall Team of the Decade (1992/93-2001/02) at the Premier League 10 seasons awards.

He won the UEFA Super Cup in 1998 and the FA Cup in 1999 with the Blues. He also helped mentor John Terry when he broke into the Chelsea first-team.

#3 Ledley King

Ledley King’s career was one which never saw peaked a lot due to his multiple injuries. King was highly rated as a central defender and in 2009, the Times named him as Tottenham’s 25th best player of all time. The now 34-year-old played for Tottenham’s first team between 1999 and 2012, but he could only manage 268 appearances in the league.

In the latter part of his career, he was plagued with injury problems for which there was no effective treatment. He couldn’t train with the first team and took fitness exercises on his own and his former manager Harry Redknapp called him a freak for being able to perform well despite not training.

During his best playing days, he was cited by pundits and players alike as one of the best defenders in the Premier League, but sadly for a player of his calibre, all he has to show for it is a League Cup which he won with Spurs in 2008.

#2 Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola played for Chelsea in an era when Chelsea were never genuine title contenders, or to be more precise, before the Abramovich era began.

The Italian spent seven seasons with the London club in between 1997 and 2003 during which he won domestic and European Cup competitions and was also named as the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year in 1997.

In 2003, Zola left the club because of the impending takeover and in the same year, he was voted as Chelsea’s greatest player ever. Sadly though, he didn’t have the luck or longevity to win the league with Chelsea under Jose Mourinho.

Zola’s only league triumph was during his playing days in Italy with Napoli in 1989/90, when he lifted the trophy alongside Diego Maradona.

#1 Steven Gerrard

If someone raises an argument about the most complete midfielder in the last decade, then I can bet my house that one of the choices will be Steven Gerrard.

It is difficult to find a player in Steven Gerrard’s mould due to his class on the field as well as his loyalty and passion towards his club. It is no secret that clubs like Real Madrid and Chelsea have tried to sign him during his best years and it is reported that even Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign the Liverpool captain.

Despite playing with Liverpool in an era where the club was not at its best, Gerrard has won several honours with the club including a UEFA Champions League title, which of course was won due to an inspiring performance from the man himself. However, the coveted league title has eluded the former England captain on several occasions.

Gerrard is a player who has been included in the PFA team of the year eight times, which itself is a record in the Premier league era and so it won’t be wrong to say that he will go down in history as the greatest player to have not won the Premier League.

Had Gerrard moved to a different club, then he would have won the league for sure, but he put his love for the club above everything else.