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#3 Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira is a Premier League legend. He captained the unforgettable Arsenal 'Invincibles' who went an entire Premier League season without conceding a defeat. Vieira was an all-action box-to-box midfielder who was as dominating a presence on the football pitch as any we have seen.
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The Frenchman was a highly competitive and belligerent player who would rather die on the field than concede a yard to the opposition. He was crucial to Arsenal becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League under Arsene Wenger.
Vieira's heated rivalry with Manchester United captain Roy Keane contributed to giving us some of the most entertaining derbies of the 21st century. He won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with Arsenal.
Vieira was part of the Juventus side that was relegated due to their involvement in the Calciopoli scandal. He quickly left the club and joined Inter Milan, with whom he won four back-to-back Serie A titles as well as the Champions League in 2009-10.
Vieira was also a part of the French national team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 Euros.
#2 Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard has just made a sensational return to the Premier League as manager of Aston Villa. He did a stellar job with Scottish giants Rangers in his three years in charge of the club. Gerrard's Rangers won the Scottish Premiership in the 2020-21 season and he has left them whilst they're at the top of the table this term.
Gerrard is one of the best midfielders of the 21st century and is a certified Premier League legend despite not having won the league title himself. He led the Liverpool side to Champions League glory, inspiring a wonderful comeback against AC Milan at Istanbul in the final of the 2004-05 edition.
An extremely intelligent and tenacious box-to-box midfielder, Gerrard was the complete package. He also had a monster of a shot and was unstoppable whenever he was on song.
Gerrard spent 17 years with Liverpool. He won one Champions League title, two FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Cup and one UEFA Super Cup.
#1 Xavi Hernandez
Xavi is one of the greatest footballers of all time. The legendary midfieldere has now been appointed as the manager of Barcelona. A La Masia product, Xavi was part of the dominant Spanish national team that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship twice in 2008 and 2012.
He is also one of Barcelona's best players of the 21st century. One of the most intelligent and technically proficient midfielders of all time, Xavi was crucial to the tiki-taka style popularized by Barcelona and Spain. His one-touch passing and wonderful chemistry with Andres Iniesta made his sides a treat to watch.
He enjoyed a wonderful career as a player. Xavi won eight La Liga titles, four Champions League titles, three Copa Del Reys, five Supercopa de Espana and two Club World Cups with Barcelona.
