Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira in their element

Ranking 5 legendary Premier League players with the most red cards

#3 John Terry - 6

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West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea - Premier League
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Captain, leader, legend. John Terry is without a doubt one of the best central defenders to ever play in the Premier League.

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Graduating from the Chelsea academy, Terry had the pleasure of being a leading part of some of the Premier League's greatest sides at Stamford Bridge. His leadership and defensive acumen at the back was crucial to the Blues' success in the Abramovich era. Terry is also the highest scoring defender in the Premier League.

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John Terry scored more goals for @ChelseaFC than Andrés Iniesta did for @FCBarcelona.
1:46 AM · Oct 20, 2021
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However, Terry's hard tackling nature has landed him in hot water at times, with the defender receiving six dismissals in 492 Premier League matches.

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His sending-off against West Brom in 2015 would probably have frustrated him the most, with the centre-back shown his second booking after Salomon Rondon tumbled to the ground.

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Nevertheless, with five Premier titles during his time at the club, Terry is without a doubt one of the finest to ever play in the Premier League.

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#2 Roy Keane - 7

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A fierce competitor and the captain of a Manchester United side that once dominated English football, Roy Keane is considered one of the most complete midfielders of his generation. A nasty enforcer who was tenacious in the tackle, Keane's reputation formed on his dominating drive with a tendency for a rash challenge.

Keane has somewhat mellowed out, as seen with his commentary roles on TV, but even now he still gets a little feisty behind the microphone. But back during his playing days, Keane was pretty feisty on the field and was considered a mad man.

He made a season-ending tackle on Manchester City's Alfe-Inge Haaland, which he later admitted in his autobiography to have been deliberate. This brought in a lot of criticism for the Irishman and was one of his seven Premier League red cards. Keane was never far from controversy or the referee's books.

On this day 19 years ago - Roy Keane got the most deserved red card in Premier League history thesun.co.uk/sport/football…
12:30 PM · Apr 22, 2020
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Still, the former Celtic man is a legend in the red half of Manchester having won several trophies with the Red Devils, including seven Premier League titles and one Champions League.


#1 Patrick Vieira - 8

Patrick Vieira and Neil Ruddock
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A colossal figure in the middle of the park, Patrick Vieira was the powerful leader of the early period during Arsene Wenger's Arsenal reign. His rivalry with Roy Keane during the latter's time at Manchester United was especially engaging to watch, with the two captains going head to head on several occasions.

Vieira was an integral part of the Gunners' Premier League winning squads and was the leader of the Gunners' famous Invincibles team. He was irreplaceable not only for Arsenal but also for the French national team, having played as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe for many years.

Despite having the joint-most red cards in Premier League history, only two of those were straight dismissals, with the other six coming through double bookings. He was, however, once banned for six games for spitting at West Ham's Neil Ruddock having been dismissed for a second bookable offense.

This is still one of the maddest things ever.
In the 00/01 season Patrick Vieira first 3 PL games of the season
Red card
Red card
2 goals and an assist
Then banned for 4 games

Back then suspensions took place 14 days after the occurrence.
3:14 AM · Feb 16, 2021

Nevertheless, Vieira remains one of the most decorated players in the game, having won three Premier League titles, five Serie A trophies and five FA Cups during his club career. He also won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championship with France truly making him one of the best to ever grace the game.

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