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Since its inception in 1992, the English Premier League has been the home to some of the best footballers to play the game. From Benin to Brazil, there have been players from 109 FIFA affiliated nations plying their trade in the best league in the world.
Although many have come and gone, there are those few players who have left an imprint on the Premier League which has enabled it to be the most watched league around. We run through five fan favourites who have become icons of the Premier League.
Five players that got fans out of their seats and everybody talking.
#5 Thierry Henry
Signed as a right winger from Juventus in 1999 for £11 million, Henry's move to England was met with trepidation. He had come through the ranks at Monaco with a lot of promise which prompted Juventus to purchase the Frenchman.
However, his debut year in Serie A only saw him play a handful of times, mainly from the right wing. Arsene Wenger decided to take the gamble and sign him for Arsenal where he was converted to a centre-forward and would later become the club's all-time top goalscorer.
It was at Arsenal where he won the Premier League title, FA Cup and FA Community Shield and was the first to win Player of the Season twice. He was part of "The Invincibles" in 2003/04 which is the only team to go the whole Premier League season unbeaten. Henry scored many great goals at his two stints at the club, including the iconic volley against bitter rivals Manchester United in the 2000/01 season.
#4 David Beckham
Footballing icons don't come much bigger than David Beckham. Signing for Manchester United as a trainee in 1991, Beckham was in perhaps the most famous youth teams ever alongside Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.
During his time in the Premier League, Beckham was as famous on the pitch as he was off it, marrying Victoria Adams from The Spice Girls, the most iconic girl band of the time. In the 1998-99 season, Beckham was part of the Manchester United team that won the famous treble; a feat which hasn't been seen since and will go down as one of the best free-kick takers ever.
That famous right foot scored some classic goals for Manchester United, including the long-distance effort against Wimbledon from inside his own half.
#3 Alan Shearer
A list of the iconic Premier League players has to include the leading all-time scorer of the Premier League with 260 goals. Shearer was deadly in front of goal and racked up his legendary tally at Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
His record will surely remain safe with the next highest player being Wayne Rooney with 208 goals. His club honours include a Premier League title with Blackburn in 1994-95 where he also won the player of the season. It's impossible to think of Newcastle without also thinking of Alan Shearer and in 2000 he was given honorary freedom of the city.
#2 Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs, son of Wales Rugby Union player Danny Wilson has won all there is to win in the Premier League and has many records including the most Premier League title wins at 13.
Other honours include: 9 x Community Shields, 4 x FA Cups, 3 x League Cups, 2 x Champions Leagues and 1 x FIFA Club World Cup winner's medal which makes him the most decorated player of all time.
Ryan Giggs is undoubtedly one of the Premier League's most iconic players having played in the first 22 Premier League seasons and also racking up the most assists at 162. A model professional, Giggs was never sent off during his club career and only received a single red card on international duty against Norway.
Dancing through an Arsenal defence, Giggs scored his most iconic goal in a United shirt in an FA Cup tie in 1999.
Honourable mentions
There were some iconic players it was hard not to include in the top five but deserve a special mention:
Wayne Rooney, Dennis Bergkamp, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Tony Adams, Didier Drogba, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Matt Le Tissier, Peter Schmeichel, Ashley Cole, Eric Cantona, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
Paolo Di Canio should also get a special mention for providing one of the most iconic moments in the Premier League when he received an 11 match ban for pushing over referee Paul Alcock!
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Perhaps the most iconic footballer at the moment and of the last 10 years, Ronaldo will go down as one of the best footballers ever. He became Manchester United's first Portuguese player, signing in 2003 for £12.24 million making him the most expensive teenager at the time.
Originally wanting the number 28 shirt that he previously had at Sporting, Alex Ferguson decided to give him the iconic number 7 shirt which had been worn by club legends George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.
Ronaldo had big boots to fill and was determined to show his worth when he made his debut as a substitute against Bolton Wanders. So impressive, George Best hailed it as "the most exciting debut he had ever seen".
Success gravitated towards Ronaldo and he won 3 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups, an FA Cup and a Champions League winner's medal. He was also the first Premier League player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year since George Best.
He is one of the most exciting players to have played in the Premier League, scoring many great goals including a cracker in the Champions League against Porto. Not only did he provide so much for the team in terms of goals and assists, he was also entertaining the crowd with his skill and finesse and was a regular on the "Showboat" segment on Soccer AM.
After winning all there is to win in the Premier League, Ronaldo fulfilled a boyhood dream by signing for Real Madrid in 2009 for a fee of £80 million which was a world record at the time.
