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5 Greatest English Football Players Of All Time

There have been a plethora of English players who have risen above the others to perform at the biggest stages in the world. England is considered one of the biggest footballing nations in the world, and some of the players they have produced over the years just go to show the immense quality the country possesses. This article talks about some of the best English players in the country’s history.

Who Are The Greatest English Football Players Of All Time?

Harry Kane

Happy Birthday Harry Kane! 🎂

🔵 England's All-Time Top Goalscorer
🔵 Tottenham's All-Time Top Goalscorer
🔵 3x PL Golden Boot
🔵 2018 World Cup Golden Boot

A LEGEND already with many years to go! pic.twitter.com/47kTXNoys5

— Whistle FC (@WhistleFC) July 28, 2023

Harry Kane is one of the finest talents England has ever produced. He is their top scorer and would have been much higher on this list had he not been so unlucky in his career with regard to trophies. He signed his professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur in July 2010. Before he could make an appearance for the club, he was sent out on loan to Leyton Orient on 7th January 2011 till the end of the 2010/11 season.

The English icon made his debut for Tottenham on 25th August 2011. While he was nowhere near first-team material just yet, loan stints at Millwall, Norwich City, and Leicester City followed his debut. On 7th April 2014, the England striker was given his first Premier League start. Kane started his Premier League career with a bang, scoring in his first three games in the league, and what followed is history.

After his initial breakthrough, Kane never looked back, and he became one of the most crucial players on the Tottenham Hotspur side. He made 435 appearances for them in total, scoring a record 280 goals for the club. He scored 213 of these goals in the Premier League, becoming the second-highest goal scorer in Premier League history. In 2023, the English star left Spurs to join Bayern Munich in search of trophies. He will hope that he can get his hands on multiple major trophies, which will back his already stellar stats and cement his status as an all-time great.

Harry Kane made his international debut on 19th March 2015 against Lithuania. Since making his debut, Kane has scored 65 goals in 95 appearances for England. He is their top scorer and will surely increase the gap to second place even more in years to come. He will surely go down as one of the greatest English players ever and may even jump all the way to the top of this list, depending on how the rest of his career pans out.

Wayne Rooney

Credit: The Independent

Wayne Rooney is, without a doubt, one of the greats of England. He is regarded as one of England’s biggest icons in their history. The striker burst onto the scene at a very young age, impressing the world with his remarkable talent. The player made his senior debut for Everton on 17th August 2002 in a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Looking at his performances, many top teams in the world instantly got interested in possibly buying him.

It was Manchester United, however, who made the first move. They signed the talented forward in 2004, but little did they know that he would turn out to be one of the biggest legends in Manchester United’s history. Rooney ended up playing a whopping 559 games for Manchester United, scoring 253 goals during this time.

After leaving Manchester United in 2017, the English icon returned to Everton for a season before playing for D.C. United and Derby County. He finally hung up his boots in 2021 and got involved in the managerial side of the game. While the player is a Manchester United and Premier League superstar, he also managed to put up some insane international stats with England.

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Wayne Rooney made his debut for England on 12th February 2003 against Australia. He was just 17 years and 111 days old then, making him the youngest player to play for England and speaking to the quality he displayed at such a young age. He scored his first goal on 6th September that same year against Macedonia. The English striker became the heart of the England team, becoming the captain in 2014. Rooney ended up making a total of 120 appearances for his country.

He scored 53 goals in these 120 appearances, which made him the highest England scorer before Harry Kane surpassed him, putting him in second place. While he did not find international success with England, he is one of the most decorated players in history, and this, combined with his domestic and international stats, makes him one of the finest English players ever.

Jimmy Greaves

Jimmy Greaves of Tottenham Hotspur pic.twitter.com/XRkTzVg5tQ

— The League Magazine (@Theleaguemag) June 23, 2024

Jimmy Greaves was a professional footballer who played from 1957 to 1980. He started his professional career with Chelsea. He made his senior debut on 24th August 1957 against Tottenham Hotspur, the club where he spent most of his career. Greaves made 169 appearances for Chelsea and scored 132 goals. After Chelsea, he moved to the Italian club AC Milan for a brief time before returning to England.

The English star then signed for Tottenham Hotspur, playing the majority of his career with them, becoming a club legend. The star made 381 appearances for the club and scored 268 goals for them, an absolutely phenomenal statistic. Greaves also played for a series of other English teams before retiring. He played for West Ham United, Brentwood, Chelmsford City, Barnet, and Woodford Town before retiring.

Jimmy Greaves made his international debut for England on 17th May 1959 against Peru. He played just 57 games for England but scored 44 goals in this period and still stands as the 5th highest goal scorer in England’s history. His crowning achievement, however, came in 1966. He won the 1966 FIFA World Cup with England. Greaves scored three goals at the World Cup, helping England lift their first and only World Cup trophy in their long history.

Bobby Moore

Credit: British GQ

Bobby Moore started his career at West Ham. He made his debut for the club on 8th September 1958 against Manchester United. The player spent nearly the entirety of his career at West Ham, playing 647 games for them. The defender was a rock for whichever team he played for, whether on the domestic or international stage.

In 1974, Moore left West Ham and joined Fulham, playing 148 games for them. While he played for a series of other clubs, such as the San Antonio Thunder, Seattle Sounders, Herning Fremad, Eastern Athletic, and Carolina Lighnin’, his two standout clubs were West Ham and Fulham.

Bobby Moore played for England from 1962 to 1973 and was a part of the legendary English squad which won the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He was not just a part of the squad, but he was the captain who led them to World Cup glory. The defender turned up big in the final, assisting two goals and helping England maintain their lead with a solid defensive effort, winning the game 4-2 in the end. The England captain is one of the most respected players in England’s history and is one of the finest players the country has ever produced.

Bobby Charlton

I sometimes wonder how Bobby Charlton could strike a ball so sweetly… especially on a pitch like boiled dog shite.

(👍🎥 @forgottengoals)

pic.twitter.com/68vj8cdhoU

— A Funny Old Game (@sid_lambert) October 19, 2023

Sir Robert Charlton (Bobby Charlton) simply had to be at the top of this list. Regarded as one of the best-ever players and the best England has ever produced, the forward’s impact on English football is unmatched. Charlton started his career in one of if not the biggest clubs in England, Manchester United.

The English forward made his first-team debut against Charlton Athletic in October 1956. Charlton became one of the ‘Busby Babes’, a collection of talented footballers who emerged through the system at Old Trafford in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s as Matt Busby set about a long-term plan to rebuild the club after the Second World War. He was also one of the lucky players to survive the Munich air disaster, one of the most horrific incidents in football history.

Bobby Charlton made 758 appearances for Manchester United and scored 249 goals during his time at the club. He also played for a series of other teams, such as Preston North End, Waterford, Curzon Ashton, Perth Azzurri, and Blacktown City. The renowned Englishman was called up to represent his nation and made his debut on 19th April 1958 in a game against Scotland just over two months after surviving the Munich air disaster.

The English icon was another icon who was part of the 1966 FIFA World Cup winning team. He scored three goals to help his nation lift the prestigious trophy for the first time in history. His story of surviving a plane crash, reviving his career, and winning the World Cup, among many other accolades in a long and spectacular career, is the reason Bobby Charlton is at the top of this list.

For more news and updates on the England Football Team, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.

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