By: Author Connor Smith
This list will introduce a handful of the best Premier League midfielders to ever grace the game. Since its inception in 1992, the Premier League has witnessed many world-class midfielders. The midfield position is arguably the most technical in football, and the Premier League has been blessed with an outrageous assortment of incredibly talented superstars over the years.
The fifteen players listed here are some of the best midfielders the Premier League has ever seen. These midfielders have not only won matches, trophies, plaudits, and hearts but also inspired future generations to play the game in a new light. Most of them have played in the Europa League and the Premier League.
Almost all players in this list have won the highly coveted Premier League title which has also been elusive to some. Below are the 15 greatest EPL midfielders of all time.
15. James Milner
EPL Titles: 3
Appearances: 637
Goals: 55
Assists: 89
Perhaps Milner is best known for his versatility. At 16 years and 356 days, he became the youngest goalscorer of the Premier League era, breaking Wayne Rooney’s short-lived record. He also won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award, after which he was signed by Manchester City, where he won two PL titles.
He later joined Liverpool, where he won a third league title. Overall, he has made 566 PL appearances, scoring 55 goals and providing 85 assists. With Milner still going strong with the club, he is definitely going to add numbers to his already impressive profile.
14. Michael Essien
EPL Titles: 2
Appearances: 168
Goals: 17
Assists: 10
The Ghanaian was a huge part of the beginning of Chelsea’s dominance in the Premier League and easily one of the best of his generation. The beauty of Essien’s game was his seeming ability to do it all: he could pick a pass, bomb forward as a box-to-box midfielder or provide a shield for the defense with relative ease.
He scored many great goals for Chelsea and was known to play in all positions save for a keeper. He won 2 PL titles across 168 appearances.
13. N’Golo Kanté
EPL Titles: 2
Appearances: 227
Goals: 12
Assists: 17
Kanté, who recently led Chelsea to a Champions League title, is the only player in EPL history to win 2 consecutive Premier League titles with 2 different teams.
He won his first league title with Leicester City which is one of the biggest surprises in sports history. He won his second title after moving to Chelsea the following season. He was also awarded the Player of the Season award for Chelsea that season.
The World Cup winner is already considered one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time and still continues to rock the Premier League.
12. Michael Carrick
EPL Titles: 5
Appearances: 481
Goals: 24
Assists: 40
The unsung hero of Man United! Carrick was always the under-appreciated deep-lying midfielder. He was unlike his compatriots. His skill set was subtler, less match-winning, and more match-defining.
His achievement with Manchester United was remarkable. He won five PL titles with Manchester United and played 481 matches with Man United, West Ham, and Tottenham. If you ask United fans, they all likely know of Carrick’s talents. Manchester United won three titles in a row, starting when Carrick joined the team.
11. Kevin De Bruyne
EPL Titles: 6
Appearances: 264
Goals: 69
Assists: 113
Arguably the best passer of any Premier League player. He played his first three seasons with Chelsea but currently plays for Man City for the past ten seasons.
De Bruyne is the first player in Premier League history to provide 15+ assists in three different campaigns. That’s just outrageous. Currently, he is not only the best playmaker in the league but also one of the most versatile midfielders in the world.
His ability to find his teammates with mind-boggling deliveries into the box is incredible. He has won six Premier League titles with Manchester City in the past seven years, including the last four seasons.
After the update, we have left De Bruyne in the eleventh spot, though he has likely earned the right to move up the list in the past few seasons. With only 264 appearances, scoring 69 goals and 113 assists makes his per-appearance average one of the best on the list. I wouldn’t be surprised to see De Bruyne land in the top 5 midfielders in the English Premier League by the end of his career.
10. Claude Makélélé
EPL Titles: 2
Appearances: 144
Goals: 2
Assists: 4
At first glance, his numbers may not seem impressive. However, Makélélé was one of the key men in Chelsea’s 2004/05 title-winning side, which conceded only 15 goals throughout the Premier League campaign—a record low in the English top-flight. He was a deep-lying playmaker disguised as a central ball-winning midfielder.
Makelele was so good that Chelsea named a role after him. He made the defensive midfield position his own at Chelsea. “The Makélélé role” describes a midfielder who is willing to sit in front of the back four, rarely progressing beyond his fellow midfielders, and generally sacrificing a shot at personal glory for the good of the team.
9. Yaya Toure
EPL Titles: 3
Appearances: 230
Goals: 62
Assists: 32
One of the colossal figures in Manchester City’s relatively recent history, Yaya Toure was a one-man show. The Ivorian was blessed with an unbelievably diverse skillset that allowed him to dominate games on his own. On his day, Toure was simply unstoppable. His physique and his amazing skills put him ahead of most midfielders of his time.
His dominating presence in the midfield worked as a cover for the backline, while his sublime ball control and technique allowed him to breeze past opponents with ease. Touré might have been signed as a holding midfielder, but with each passing season, the Premier League saw one of the most versatile and complete midfielders to have ever graced its shores.
Toure was technically an engine room. He is not only known as one of the greatest EPL midfielders, but also as one of the strongest to ever play the game.
8. Cesc Fabrégas
EPL Titles: 2
Appearances: 350
Goals: 50
Assists: 111
The Spaniard played for both Arsenal and Chelsea as a Premier League midfielder, but perhaps his most successful period was at the blue half of London. He will be remembered as arguably the best playmaker of the Premier League era. He took the Premier League by storm at quite a young age and never looked back.
He left Arsenal for Barcelona and later returned to the Premier League with Chelsea, where he won his first title in his first season back with an incredible 19 assists.
Fabregas was a metronome like no other. His ability to control the tempo of the game transformed the Chelsea side. Every week, he broke opposition lines for fun.
7. Roy Keane
EPL Titles: 7
Appearances: 366
Goals: 39
Assists: 33
The most successful captain in the Premier League era, Roy Keane, was an enigma operating from the heart of the midfield.
Keane won everything with Manchester United, yet it was at Nottingham Forest that he learned the workmanship and art of football. The legendary Irishman is perceived as a traditional holding midfield player who didn’t attack often.
In several aspects, he was unparalleled in his prime, most notably his aggression on the pitch and his ability to win the ball back. Keane could carry the ball higher up the pitch, break opposition attacks, and cover every blade of grass on the field. He was an enigma in his own right.
6. David Silva
EPL Titles: 4
Appearances: 309
Goals: 60
Assists: 93
The fact that he has a statue outside Manchester City’s stadium in his honor shows he’s quite a legend. The Spaniard was pivotal in making the dreams of winning a first Premier League title a reality.
Silva contributed with eight goals and 19 assists across 49 matches in all competitions as City pipped neighbors Manchester United to the title in dramatic fashion.
Silva possesses a unique understanding of the game. His ability to position himself between the lines and operate from those areas while resisting the opposition’s press is phenomenal.
He can dribble past opposition players and possesses an immaculate touch, which allows him to wiggle out of tight spaces with ease.
5. Patrick Vieira
EPL Titles: 3
Appearances: 307
Goals: 31
Assists: 34
He was a key part of the “Invincibles” Arsenal team that won the Premier League unbeaten. Deciphered as a ‘cautious’ midfielder, the transcending Frenchman was basically a box-to-box administrator who ruled the center of the pitch. His special rawness and staggering physicality made him a nightmare for opposition players.
Vieira was one of the best for a host of reasons, from his tactical intelligence to his excellent reading of the game.
Although many could classify him as a traditional defensive midfielder, in truth, he was much more than that. His unique physique and unbelievable athleticism enabled him to win the ball back easily.
He could participate in the build-up, surge forward into the box, and score crucial goals from a distance. Vieira was at the heart of three Premier League-winning squads and won the 2000-2001 Player of the Year award to go with it. He is widely regarded as one of the PL’s greatest captains.
4. Ryan Giggs
EPL Titles: 13
Appearances: 632
Goals: 109
Assists: 162
Giggs is the player on this list with the most Premier League titles, having won it 13 times. Only two clubs have won more English league titles than the Welshman. That is just insane! He was part of Manchester United’s famous Class of ’92 and played for his entire career there.
He became the one familiar face in Ferguson’s ever-changing Manchester United side. While Sir Alex always found a way to reinvigorate his sides throughout his career, Giggs remained an integral part of every single one. For every bit that Fergie was a managerial master, Giggs was his legendary lieutenant.
With 162 assists for United, he holds the record for most assists in the league.
3. Frank Lampard
EPL Titles: 3
Appearances: 609
Goals: 177
Assists: 102
Lampard played for West Ham, Chelsea, and Man City during his time in the Premier League. He’s widely regarded as Chelsea’s greatest player of all time. The very fact that he’s the only midfielder on the list of the 10 highest goal-scorers in Premier League history speaks volumes about his goal-scoring threat. Frank Lampard scored 177 goals and is celebrated as the highest-scoring midfielder in league history.
His ability to strike the ball from both dead-ball situations and open play was unmatched. Lampard’s versatility and longevity were pivotal in his influence on the pitch. In terms of pure numbers, Lampard appears to have the edge over the other players on this list and could make a proper case for being the greatest.
His 177 goals and 102 assists mean that he’s one of only three players to have 100+ goals and assists in the league. The three-time Premier League winner also has a Player of the Year award for his superb 2004/05 season. He is undoubtedly a legend of the league and the game in general.
And the Second Best Premier League Midfielder – Steven Gerrard
EPL Titles: 0
Appearances: 504
Goals: 120
Assists: 92
The fact that he ranks second despite being the only player on this list without a PL title is a testament to Gerrard’s footballing ability. He’s undoubtedly Liverpool’s most exceptional player in the Premier League era. He’s also arguably the most complete midfielder in the league. Like number one on this list, Gerrard was also a one-club man.
Gerrard was a complete midfielder. He could run box to box, make defensive tackles, take great shots and make aggressive runs, win headers and duals, and lead by example. He was known for his leadership and influential qualities. His long-range strikes, which mostly came at clutch moments, were vintage Steve G moments.
Perhaps his most impressive aspect is that he maintained an incredible level of performance despite difficult situations. He came close to winning the league title in the 2013/14 season, and if it hadn’t been for his famous slip against Chelsea, he probably would have added a PL title to his incredible collection of trophies.
One of the most iconic legends in the sport and will be remembered as one of the greatest midfielders of all time.
Best Premier League Midfielder – Paul Scholes
EPL Titles: 11
Appearances: 499
Goals: 107
Assists: 55
Arguably the greatest midfielder in the history of the Premier League. The Englishman was at the heart of Manchester United’s most illustrious period. The United great could do pretty much everything: pass long, pass short, shoot from way out, shoot from close in, he was strong, could keep the ball, and had a vision. If he could tackle, he would have been half-decent.
Scholes won an incredible 11 Premier League titles during his time at Man United. He was lauded for being a complete player, as he had the positional understanding to play a range of roles.
The legendary Englishman was an expert playmaker who combined his unparalleled vision with near-perfect execution. He could find his teammates with the most breathtaking passes that split open defenses within moments. His excellent passing range made him one of English football’s most consistent performers and the best midfielder.
He was a one-club man and loved United so much that he came out of retirement in the 2011/12 season to help the injury-ravaged Red Devils. He took up the mantle once again when he signed a short-term deal at the age of 36. He stayed on for one more year as United won the title in 2013, with him pulling the strings sitting at the heart of the midfield in his last hurrah.
Over his 499 Premier League appearances, Scholes racked up 107 goals, set up a further 55 assists, and has an incredible 11 league titles to his name. Paul Scholes is truly a Premier League great, and one of the greatest of his generation.
Greatest Premier League players on other positions: