10 Greatest British Footballers Ranked Including Rooney, Best and Bale
SPORTbible have ranked the greatest British footballers in history, narrowing down a decorated list of names and putting together a top 10 list.
Great Britain is widely considered to be where football began and the island has produced a slew of footballers who have gone on to achieve incredible things in the beautiful game.
There are so many, in fact, that whittling it down to a top 10 and ordering the stars was not an easy task and will no doubt drive plenty of debates in the comments.
It therefore made sense to begin with some notable omissions by shining a light on greats like Stanley Matthews, Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan, Paul Scholes, Gary Lineker, Bobby Moore, Ryan Giggs and Ian Rush, who all etched their name in history thanks to their outstanding achievements.
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But only 10 could make the list and without further ado, here is the list in full.
10.Bobby Charlton
A key member of England's 1966 World Cup team, Charlton, a survivor of the Munich Air disaster, won the Ballon d'Or that year and was record goalscorer for the Three Lions and Manchester United until his tally was surpassed.
In his glittering career, the late Charlton scored 298 goals for United and England.
9.John Terry
Terry will go down as one of England's greatest ever defenders, having been named UEFA Club Defender of the Year in 2005, 2008 and 2009.
During 19 years at Chelsea, the former Blues skipper won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups and one Champions League.
8.Kenny Dalglish
When it comes to Liverpool and Celtic, the clubs cannot be mentioned without Kenny Dalglish's name following. 'King Kenny' won four league titles with Celtic and joined Liverpool in a British record £440,000 switch.
There he went on to win six league titles and three European Super Cups in a dominant era for the Reds, scoring 172 goals in 515 appearances.
7.David Beckham
If the list for the most marketable British footballer then Beckham would win comfortably. 'Golden Balls' created so much publicity and headlines with his fame that it is often forgotten that he was an exceptionally gifted footballer.
One of the best set-piece takers in history, the former United and Real Madrid midfielder captained his country 115 times and is also the only English player to win league titles in four different countries.
6.George Best
Another great to have worn No.7 for United, Best was the original maverick and glided around some of the worst pitches you've ever seen. The Northern Irishman won the Ballon d'Or in 1968 after leading the Red Devils to the European Cup.
5.Frank Lampard
Chelsea's record goalscorer scored has the most number of goals from a midfielder in the Premier League with 177 and also found the net 29 times in 106 games for England after making his debut in 1999.
4.Steven Gerrard
When Lampard's name is mentioned, Gerrard's name is not far behind. But when it comes to the top ten list, Gerrard, one of the most complete players in history, is ahead.
Gerrard captained both England and Liverpool - scoring a total of 207 goals.
He was renowned for dragging his team out of the muck when it mattered most - the best example being when he led Liverpool to Champions League glory against AC Milan in 2005 when they came back from 3-0 down.
3.Harry Kane
From one England skipper to another, Kane is the Three Lions' record goalscorer with 74 and their top scorer at major tournaments, where England have reached two finals.
Kane, who ended his trophy drought with Bayern Munich last year, is also the highest-scoring Englishman in the Champions League and second to Shearer in the all-time Premier League scoring charts with 213.
2.Gareth Bale
Another star who made his name at Spurs, winning two PFA Player of the Year awards, Bale got his world-record move to Real in 2013 and won five Champions League titles, scoring in two finals along the way.
He bagged 106 times for Los Blancos and was a sensation for Wales on the international stage, finding the net on 41 occasions and dragging them to major tournaments - including the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
1.Wayne Rooney
At the very top of three is the man whose name we were told to remember when he lashed in one for Everton against Arsenal as a 16-year-old.
A truly gifted footballer who never seem to get the credit he deserves, Rooney is United's record goalscorer with 253 goals and was England's top scorer until Kane usurped him.
Josh Lawless