6 players who arguably have a bigger legacy than Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premier League
Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been widely hailed as one of the greatest players of all time.
Discovered by United scouts at Sporting in 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a blistering spell in the Premier League before going on to dominate Spain and Italy.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner won his first one in 2008, when he was tearing up the Premier League as a Manchester United player.
Ronaldo, who has scored 102 English top-flight goals and claimed 37 assists in 228 appearances thus far, has won the league title thrice. He also has two 'Premier League Player of the Season' awards (2006-07, 2007-08) and a Golden Boot (2007-08, 31 goals) to his name.
Although Ronaldo has an enviable legacy in the division, the Portuguese is not unrivaled in terms of it.
Below, we will take a look at six players who arguably have a bigger legacy in the English top flight.
Here are six superstars with a bigger legacy than the great Ronaldo in the Premier League:
#6 Wayne Rooney - Everton and Manchester United
One of the most dogged players in Premier League history, Wayne Rooney was a beast in his heyday. He chased every ball, worked incredibly hard, and had an innate ability to find the back of the net.
He first broke onto the scene at Everton, proving his mettle against some of the league’s most intimidating defenders. On the back of an impressive 2003-04 campaign for Everton, in which he scored nine league goals, Manchester United lapped him up.
Over the next 13 seasons, he scored 183 goals and claimed 93 assists in 393 league matches, helping the Red Devils to five league titles. His partnership with Ronaldo was extremely prolific, with the two often combining to devastating effect.
Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United should allow Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the club this summer. https://t.co/avIoKEF6Ds
He returned to Everton ahead of the 2017-18 campaign, where he scored 10 Premier League goals before moving to the MLS.
The current D.C. United manager scored 208 Premier League goals and provided 103 assists in 491 matches.
#5 Paul Scholes - Manchester United
The Premier League has seen its fair share of brilliant midfielders since its inception. Paul Scholes is arguably the best central midfielder to ever play in the English top flight.
Scholes, who played alongside Ronaldo for six seasons, spent his entire professional career at Manchester United.
At his best, he was the heartbeat of the team, going above and beyond to help them dictate the terms of the match. He was not a designated goalscorer at United. but found the back of the net from time to time.
Over the course of his illustrious career, Scholes scored 107 goals in 499 English top-flight games spread across 20 seasons.
The former England international also claimed 55 assists, with his commanding midfield play and goal contributions helping the Red Devils to 11 league titles.
#4 Frank Lampard - West Ham United, Chelsea, and Manchester City
Frank Lampard enjoyed an illustrious career. The central midfielder, who was also capable of playing higher up the pitch, had everything in his locker.
He was a top distributor, read the game superbly, and could find the back of the net with ease.
Ronaldo and Lampard went head-to-head quite a few times during the Portuguese's first spell at United, with the Englishman giving the former a run for his money.
Lampard plied his trade at three Premier League clubs, but undoubtedly played his best football at Chelsea. He spent 13 seasons at Stamford Bridge, recording 147 goals and 90 assists in 429 league games. Lampard’s goal involvements helped the Blues to three Premier League titles.
His best-ever league campaign came in the 2004-05 season, with him pitching in with 13 goals and 18 assists in 38 appearances to fire the Blues to the title. Lampard deservedly won the 'Premier League Player of the Season' award at the end of the campaign.
Across three Premier League teams, Lampard played 609 English top-flight fixtures, scoring 177 goals and claiming 102 assists.
#3 Ryan Giggs - Manchester United
Like Scholes, Ryan Giggs was also a one-club man. The Welshman, a maverick of his time, played only for Manchester United all his career, creating an inimitable legacy at Old Trafford.
Giggs was an unimaginably versatile midfielder. He was at his best on the left side of the midfield, but could easily play in the middle and out on the right flank as well.
Giggs’ marauding runs were difficult for the opposition to deal with, with the forward regularly finding himself in dangerous areas.
He spent a whopping 23 seasons in the English top flight, recording 109 goals and a record 162 assists in 632 games.
Giggs’ skillset helped the Red Devils to 13 English Premier League titles, with him celebrating three of those alongside Ronaldo. No player in the history of the English top flight has more championships to his name.
#2 Sergio Aguero - Manchester City
Sergio Aguero changed the landscape of the Premier League following his switch from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011. The Argentine maverick emerged as a Premier League star in his debut season itself, scoring 23 goals in 34 appearances.
His final goal of the season, which came four minutes into injury time against Queens Park Rangers, sealed a 3-2 comeback win for Manchester City. The last-gasp winner allowed City to beat crosstown rivals Manchester United to the Premier League title in the most dramatic possible way on the final day of the season.
Gary Neville on #MNF about the Sergio Aguero goal vs QPR in 2012: “It’s not my favourite Premier League moment by any stretch, but it’s the most iconic.” https://t.co/5zJ3dgSJEq
Aguero played only for Manchester City in the Premier League, recording 184 goals and 47 assists for them in 275 appearances, spanning 10 seasons. He won the Golden Boot once, bagging the prestigious accolade following his 26-goal haul in the 2014-15 campaign (33 appearances).
Ronaldo and Aguero did not cross paths in the English top flight, denying viewers a mouth-watering tussle between the two world-class forwards.
#1 Thierry Henry - Arsenal
Arguably the greatest player to play for Arsenal, Thierry Henry ruled the Premier League with an iron fist during his time in north London.
He was an astoundingly intelligent forward, capable of doing the unthinkable in the blink of an eye. Nimble-footed, quick, and a devastating finisher, Henry was the blueprint for the perfect striker.
The Frenchman was at Arsenal for nine seasons (over two spells). He emerged as one of the best forwards of all time during his first spell between 1999 and 2008. Henry returned to the club in the 2011-12 season for one last dance, scoring one Premier League goal in four appearances.
Henry was one of the key players in Arsene Wenger’s championship-winning side from the 2001-02 season, scoring 24 goals in 33 games that season. Alongside winning the title, he also bagged his first Golden Boot at the end of the campaign.
Henry won his second Golden Boot in the 2003-04 season, with him scoring his best-ever 30 goals to fire Arsenal to the Premier League title. The Gunners did not lose a single game that campaign, becoming the first and only team to win the title unbeaten.
Henry added two more Golden Boots to his collection in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, becoming the only player in history to have four Premier League Golden Boots.
The two-time 'Premier League Player of the Season' winner (2003-04, 2005-06), played a total of 258 English top-flight games in his career, recording 175 goals and 74 assists.
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