Top 10 Best British Players Of All Time (Updated List)

Find out who the top 10 British players of all time are. Some of them made history in the national teams and left their mark.

In this selection, the 10 best British players of all time are highlighted. For this ranking, somewhat similar lists were found from reliable sources on the internet, and as expected, the lists were not consistent when it comes to ranking the best.

Although almost the same names were being mentioned, the classifications were different. This was expected, since each expert has his own opinion, and this is reflected in the ratings. In this selection are players of very high level who were considered based on the opinions of relevant experts in print and digital media.

The number of goals was also considered when classifying an attacker and considerable performances when it comes to defenders. The clubs they played in were also considered, as standing out in an elite club is not easy.

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It is not so easy when it comes to ranking the best athletes of all time. To be fair, anyone on this team had the potential to become the best in the world. The online sources used for this selection are The Telegraph, Barry Hugman’s Footballers, Goal, RSSSF, and several other similar websites.

The 10 Best British Players Of All Time

#10. Gary Lineker

One of the greatest English strikers of all time Gary Lineker played for Leicester, Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham. In addition to the clubs, Gary Lineker also played for England in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup. In the first World Cup, he became a top scorer with 6 goals. He played 80 national team matches and scored 48 goals.

#9. Gareth Bale

Gareth is extremely accurate and deadly with long-range goal kicks. Although he plays for Real Madrid, he is a Briton (Wales) and deserves his place on every football player list of any description. Together with Real, he has already won 4 European Champions League, 3 European Super Cup, 2 Club World Cups and several national titles.

#8. Sir Tom Finney

Sir Tom Finney is well known for his long career displays for his beloved club Preston North End. Yes, he did not play a single match under any other club banner. All of his almost 600 games are between Preston North End and the English national team.

He played 76 games for the English national team and scored 36 goals for England, including participation in 3 World Cups. He was elected twice the best English player of the year. He has received numerous awards and adulation from his fans for his wonderful career performances.

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#7. Geoff Hurst

Geoff Hurst was a goal machine for the English national team. Thanks to his hat trick at the 1966 World Cup, England defeated Germany 4-2. Another reason why Geoff is always on any list of best English footballers is that the 1966 World Cup title was England’s first and the only FIFA World Cup title to date.

#6. Wayne Rooney

He is the greatest scorer in the history of the England team and is the player with the most matches wearing the English shirt. Including the 3 World Cups in which he participated. He also won England’s Player of the Year 4 times. The former England captain has served 559 times for the Manchester United club, but in 2017 he announced his retirement from the national team and was transferred to Everton, the club that revealed him to football.

#5. John Charles

John Charles was regarded as one of the best football players ever produced by the United Kingdom. He is well known for his extraordinary success rate of 93 goals in 155 games while playing for Juventus. He may not have been England’s top scorer, but he came very close.

#4. Sir Stanley Matthews

Sir Stanley Matthews is often regarded as the best English player of all time, and for very good reasons. He was the first footballer to win the Best European Player of the Year and Best English Player of the Year awards.

#3. Bobby Moore

The man who defended England against Germany in the World Cup finals. Considered by many as the best defender of all time. He took on the role of captain for England at just 22 years of age. But his greatest success was to come later, precisely at the 1966 World Cup, an achievement that England has never been able to repeat since then.

#2. George Best

George Best retired prematurely when he was just 28 years old, and yet, he is second in this selection. He was eighth in the vote that elected 100 greatest football players in the world in the 20th century and was also voted sixteenth in the 1999 IFFHS elections for the Player of the Century.

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#1. Sir Bobby Charlton

Sir Bobby Charlton was the top scorer with a total of 49 goals for England and 249 for Manchester United during his career. However, what makes him different from the other goal scorers in this selection, is that he was also a scorer of great goals.

He would never let an opportunity pass, despite how few chances of scoring a goal could be. He is definitely the best midfielder to ever play for England, if not the world. He is one of the main reasons why England won the World Cup in 1966.