The third decade of Premier League football saw the emergence of various players who would go on to become all-time greats, with Manchester City prevailing as the decade's most successful team, winning four league titles. In 2016, Leicester astonished the sporting world by defeating 5000-1 odds to win the Premier League, while the Premier League said goodbye to managerial luminaries Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, whose regimes at Manchester United and Arsenal respectively came to an end.
Here we take a look at the 10 best players from the Premier League in the last decade:
10. David de Gea
De Gea, at the height of its power, confounded rationality with a series of stunning reflex saves, his shot-stopping ability rivalling that of any Premier League goalkeeper. He was named to the League's TOTS a record five times and won the Club POTY four times. When De Gea was at his peak, with his capacity to create the unimaginable, he exuded an aura.
9. N’Golo Kante
Kante joined Leicester from Caen in 2015 and helped the Foxes win the Premier League in their first season at the King Power Stadium, before moving to Chelsea for £30 million and claiming the PFA Player of the Year as the Blues won their second title in a row. He went on to win the World Cup in 2018, cementing his reputation as probably the best defensive midfielder in the world.
8. Yaya Toure
Toure was an overwhelming beast in midfield, an irresistible talent who left opponents in his wake and could inspire with his technique.
Toure had probably the best individual season by a Premier League midfielder in the 2013/14 season, scoring 20 goals and giving nine assists as Manuel Pellegrini's team defeated Liverpool to the title.
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7. Luis Suarez
The Uruguayan was untouchable in leading Liverpool to the Premier League title, scoring 31 league goals in his 33 games to win the Golden Boot and a double as Footballer of the Year. He's one of the Premier League's last decade's most important figures.
6. Gareth Bale
The Welshman was an irresistible juggernaut of pure talent and outstanding technique, tearing through opposing full-backs and producing iconic scenes for the north London club's fans. Bale won the PFA Player of the Year title in 2011 before repeating the feat two years later.
5. Harry Kane
Kane had a tremendous debut season as a starter at Spurs, scoring 31 goals in all competitions and won back-to-back Premier League Golden Boot awards in 2015/16 and 2016/17. However, the forward's greatest individual season came the next year, when he scored 41 goals in just 48 games for the north Londoners, making him only the second Englishman to win the World Cup Golden Boot.
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4. Vincent Kompany
Manchester City was the decade's dominating power, and it is the club's leader. Kompany, the central defender vital to his side and an indispensable character at the Etihad, was a massive presence with his authoritative defence and command from the back.
3. Eden Hazard
Hazard was a spectacular player when he was at his peak, with immaculate close control and a low centre of gravity that allowed him to glide past rival defenders with ease. During his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge, he scored 85 league goals in 245 games, winning six major awards and leaving a legacy of memorable experiences.
2. Sergio Aguero
In his first year at the Etihad, Aguero provided possibly the most legendary event in the division's history, scoring a stoppage-time winner against Queens Park Rangers on the final game of the season to secure City's first of four league titles in the decade. During the 2014/15 season, he earned the Premier League Golden Boot, one of a joint-record five straight seasons in which he scored 20 or more league goals.
1. David Silva
Silva was instrumental in every one of Manchester City's important victories during that time, collecting 11 major awards in total, including four league titles and five League Cups. Silva was constantly outstanding over a golden era at the Etihad, and while City has had some outstanding names, it is the small playmaker who probably stitched the side together, a supremely skilled footballer who ranks among the finest international transfers of the Premier League era.
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