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Cast the first vote in 1 tap — pick #1 Kevin De Bruyne or #2 Frank Lampard to reveal the live split:
Ranking the ten best midfielders in Premier League history by title impact, goal contributions, playmaking, and sustained dominance. Every Premier League title race since 1992 has been decided in midfield. Whether through Frank Lampard's…
177 league goals, Kevin De Bruyne's 119 assists in just 288 matches, or Roy Keane's relentless control for Manchester United, the best midfielders dictate both tempo and trophies. We rank the ten greatest Premier League midfielders of all time by combining official competition output—appearances, goals, and assists—with championship medals and big-match authority. Do six league titles and unmatched creative efficiency put De Bruyne at number one, or do Lampard's 279 combined goal involvements and Steven Gerrard's all-around carry job deserve the top spot? Cast your vote below. From box-to-box engines and goalscoring number eights to deep-lying playmakers and ball-winning destroyers, midfielders have defined every Premier League dynasty since 1992. This ranking evaluates the ten greatest midfielders in competition history across official Premier League statistics and silverware. Midfielders are evaluated across official Premier League statistics (appearances, goals, assists, and Premier League titles won) from 1992–93 onward, sourced from PremierLeague.com and Wikipedia. Ranking combines three weighted dimensions: Premier League titles and championship impact (40 percent), combined goal and assist output per game (35 percent), and longevity plus individual honours such as Player of the Season and Hall of Fame induction (25 percent).
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Starting order. Vote up or down to reorder this list.
| Item | Pl titles | appearances | Goal involvements |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1Kevin De Bruyne | 6 | 288 | 191 |
| #2Frank Lampard | 3 | 609 | 279 |
| #3Steven Gerrard |
Kevin De Bruyne transformed Manchester City's midfield into the most relentless chance-creation machine in English football. Across 288 Premier League appearances for Chelsea and Manchester City, the Belgian registered 72 goals and 119 assists—the second-highest assist total in competition history—while lifting 6 Premier League trophies.
No midfielder in Premier League history matched Frank Lampard's durability or penalty-box timing. Playing 609 matches across West Ham United, Chelsea, and Manchester City, Lampard netted 177 league goals—placing seventh among all players regardless of position—and added 102 assists for a midfield-record 279 combined goal involvements.
Steven Gerrard was the complete English midfielder—capable of a 30-yard screamer, a slide tackle in his own box, or a 60-yard diagonal switch. Across 504 Premier League matches for his boyhood club Liverpool, Gerrard scored 120 goals and supplied 92 assists while earning six consecutive PFA Team of the Year selections from 2003–04 to 2008–09.
Paul Scholes evolved from a late-arriving goalscoring midfielder in the 1990s into Europe's most feared deep-lying controller in the 2000s. Spending his entire career at Manchester United, Scholes made 499 Premier League appearances, scoring 107 goals and assisting 55 while collecting 11 championship medals.
Roy Keane was the heartbeat of Sir Alex Ferguson's first great Manchester United dynasty. Across 366 Premier League appearances for Nottingham Forest and United, the Irishman recorded 39 goals and 33 assists, numbers that only hint at his true value in ball recovery, pressing, and relentless standards.
Patrick Vieira redefined the Premier League central midfielder upon arriving at Arsenal in 1996. Towering, combative, and silky on the dribble, Vieira scored 31 goals and supplied 34 assists in 307 Premier League appearances for Arsenal and Manchester City.
Ryan Giggs's Premier League career spanned 22 seasons of relentless excellence at Manchester United. Playing 632 league matches—third all-time—Giggs scored 109 goals and delivered a competition-record 162 assists for 271 combined goal involvements.
Nicknamed El Mago, David Silva unlocked packed Premier League defences for a full decade at Manchester City from 2010 to 2020. In 309 league appearances, he scored 60 goals and provided 93 assists—eighth on the all-time Premier League list—while creating 793 chances.
N'Golo Kanté pulled off one of English football's greatest two-year feats by winning consecutive Premier League titles with two different clubs: Leicester City in 2015–16 and Chelsea in 2016–17. Making 227 Premier League appearances (12 goals, 17 assists) without ever receiving a red card, Kanté swept the 2016–17 PFA Players' Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, and Premier League Player of the Season awards.
Rodri became the tactical cornerstone of Manchester City's four-in-a-row Premier League dynasty. Combining press-resistant passing, aerial authority, and clutch long-range goals, the Spaniard won 4 Premier League titles between 2020–21 and 2023–24, earning two PFA Team of the Year selections and the 2024 Ballon d'Or.
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Create a list with AI →Debating whether #1 Kevin De Bruyne holds the top spot against #2 Frank Lampard.
The published order is the starting point; item votes can help reshape it.
Rank Scramble: Can You Order Today's Top 10?
Drag ten shuffled picks into their live community order in under 60 seconds.
| 0 |
| 504 |
| 212 |
| #4Paul Scholes | 11 | 499 | 162 |
|---|
| #5Roy Keane | 7 | 366 | 72 |
|---|
| #6Patrick Vieira | 3 | 307 | 65 |
|---|
| #7Ryan Giggs | 13 | 632 | 271 |
|---|
| #8David Silva | 4 | 309 | 153 |
|---|
| #9N'Golo Kanté | 2 | 227 | 29 |
|---|
| #10Rodri | 4 | 180 | 43 |
|---|
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