The UK is big on football and even bigger on their football stars. Fans are driven to follow the player stats, news and more and even support teams specifically for one or two players. The players on this list have been active in the most important football leagues in the UK and are loved by fans.
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer is thought of as the last great striker to ever hail from the UK. He holds the all-time Premier League goalscoring record and is Newcastle United’s most legendary player to fans of football.
He was forward for the Blackburn Rovers and could finish the ball from almost any angle. He is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and of the Premier League. He is known as the Premier League’s record goalscorer. He has received many honours for his role in football including Football Writers Association Player of the Year in 1994 and even won the PFA Player of the Year in 1995.
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand started his football career by joining various youth teams and finally joining the West Ham United team where he went through various youth ranks and made a professional debut in the Premier league in 1996.
It is in the Premier League that he became a fan favourite by winning the Hammer of the year award. His first senior international cap was earned in 1997 due to a match against Cameroon. With this match, he set a record for the youngest defender to play for the UK. He won the Premier League with Manchester United which was his first major club honour in football with a successful first season at the club.
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, scoring over 150 goals for the team and playing over 700 matches between 1993 and 2013. He is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and of the greatest Manchester United players of all time.
He was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney was a forward and also had various midfield roles in teams. He is considered to be one of the best players of his generation and the record goalscorer for both Manchester United and The England National team.
Wayne Rooney won the PFA Players’ Player of the year award as well as the FWA Footballer of the year award for the 2009 season. He has also won the PREMIER League Player of The Month award five times throughout his career as a footballer.