25 Most Entertaining Players in Premier League History

The English Premier League has been graced by some phenomenal athletes.

Football is all about entertainment and competition. The fans pay big money to see their club and they hope to be rewarded with quality football.

Here is a list of just some of the great entertainers the English Premier League has seen so far. There are droves of them, but this is my pick of 25.

Please, enjoy the show and feel free to suggest more players for the list. There's no way I can encapsulate them all—I'll leave that to you!

Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry is without doubt one of the best strikers the English Premier League has ever seen.

Arsene Wenger truly struck gold with this guy having seen his talents firsthand at AS Monaco. £11 million ended up being cheap as Henry was converted into the most devastating striker England is ever likely to stage.

The variety of goals this man could score has no bounds and he never ceased to amaze.

The video shows his top 10 goals. It's a shame about the soundtrack to the video, but the goals shown are simply fantastic.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is entertaining in many, many ways.

He is the first, but not the last on this list to demonstrate footballers can hit the headlines for a variety of reasons—not just goals.

Rooney scores his fair share and plenty of them are great, great goals. But his entertainment value stretches from goals all the way to red cards, Twitter threats and hair surgery.

He's a constant figure in the media but not always for the right reasons. Nevertheless, he's a great entertainer.

Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba, like the previous two candidates, is a phenomenal striker.

The goals he has been scoring have sometimes been nothing short of superb, and just when you think he can't add anything else to his game, he starts taking unbelievable free kicks.

But he also dives, cries, gets his hair in a twist, and tangles with fans and police. Perhaps THE Didier Drogba moment was when he lost his rag at the referee after the UEFA Champions League semifinal in 2009.

This weekend on your daily dose of Drogba, he two-footed Adel Taraabt of QPR and received a straight red. It's never quiet. 

Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is fast becoming one of the best left midfielders in world football.

His electric pace and positive play resulted in a hat trick against Internazionale last season and a serious amount of interest from Europe's elite.

But it wasn't always like that for poor Bale. He was very poor in his opening days with Tottenham and was seen as a curse due to the fact he'd not won a game with Tottenham in over 20 attempts.

People would see that Spurs were up 3-0 and shout "Quick! Get Bale on!". Oh, how things have changed.

He scores great goals and rinses defenders. He is a very hot property.

Rafael van der Vaart

The Dutch wizard Rafael van der Vaart hasn't been in the English Premier League as long as most on this list, but for me he deserves a place.

Tottenham really do have a player with the ability to do just about anything, and the variety of goals he scores is unbelievable.

He is gifted at playing in the hole behind any kind of striker, be it Peter Crouch or Jermain Defoe, and scores a tonne of goals with his reliable left peg. He is great to watch.

David Silva

Is there a better player in the English Premier League right now?

David Silva has turned the formerly defensively steady Manchester City into a full-flowing attacking force.

His genius on the ball unlocks every defence he comes up against and his passing is top-notch. He's a goal threat too, and his interlinking play with Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero is something to behold.

David Silva will lead Manchester City to glory sooner rather than later.

Robert Pires

Ignoring his last farcical spell with Aston Villa, the time Robert Pires spent in the Premier League was pure quality.

The video shows his top seven goals, but there were so many more. He had the ability to score from any angle, any range and with either foot. 

He truly is one of Arsenal's best-ever players.

Cristiano Ronaldo

One of the most famous players who has ever lived graced the English Premier League for six years.

The entertainment value of Cristiano Ronaldo knows no bounds. His on-pitch controversies were as frequent as his goals.

The free kicks he takes are mind-blowing at times, having learnt his technique from the aforementioned Didier Drogba.

His £80 million transfer to Real Madrid was eyebrow-raising to say the least, but 76 goals in 71 appearances suggest they didn't pay too much despite the huge fee.

Emile Heskey

Entertaining, but in no way for his talent or skill.

Managers and players love him, 90 percent of fans hate him. While he can be an effective target man, he is entertaining for the reason that he is hilarious to watch.

He is often withdrawing from matches early with injuries that many would play on with, and most goals he scores he does whilst falling over.

Truly a frustration to fans from many clubs as he failed to produce form like he did at Liverpool whilst partnering Michael Owen.

David Beckham

It was a real shame for Premier League football when David Beckham left for Real Madrid.

He continued a long tradition of quality No.7s in the Manchester United red shirt, and some of his goals and crosses have been simply sublime.

The free kick that booked England's place in the 2002 World Cup finals will be remembered fondly by Englishmen everywhere, and the goal he scored from inside his own half against Wimbledon made plenty of headlines.

He will be a free agent in January—where will he end up?

Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas was great to watch.

Although he wasn't quite able to lead Arsenal to glory as captain, his mesmerizing displays in midfield made them a joy to watch.

One standout goal would be that incredible run in the North London derby straight from kickoff. His passing was near perfect throughout his time in England, and his abilities will be missed.

Mario Balotelli

The English Premier League has truly been blessed with the presence of the hilarious Mario Balotelli.

Not only does he score wonder goals but he's a comical character and constantly makes the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Whether he's playing on his iPad whilst on the bench for the Italian national team, throwing darts at the Manchester City U-18s, or setting his house on fire by lighting fireworks in his bathroom, he's always the name on everyone's lips.

Mario Balotelli needs his own TV show, or at the very least a book about him.

Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola has graced the English Premier League both as a player and as a manager.

As a player, he lit up the Chelsea attack with regularity and scored some truly great goals. His back-heel from a corner is one of the most memorable goals to have ever been scored, and is revered worldwide.

He came back to manage West Ham United and while, unfortunately, it didn't quite work out as planned, he lit up the Premier League this time with his broad smile. Even in defeat, his jolly demeanour made it simply impossible not to love him.

Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard, whilst taking the word unspectacular towards a new meaning for the English national team, never failed to hit the heights for Liverpool.

I can't think of any other who has scored as many long range belters than Steven Gerrard. His ability to find the incisive pass or find the back of the net knows no rivals, and he has carried Liverpool through the last decade single-handedly.

Off the pitch he has significant coverage too, after that incident at the bar made the courts.

Again, whilst apologising for the soundtrack on the featured video, it perfectly depicts Gerrard's ability to steady himself and shoot from distance, maintaining balance and power with ultimate perfection.

Dennis Bergkamp

Easily one of the most talented players to have ever played, Dennis Bergkamp combined with Thierry Henry to form one of the most potent strike forces the world has ever seen.

Check the video. Have you seen such majesty emanate from many other players? Few can do what he did with the ball. It was a shame for the Netherlands that he was scared of flying—they could have done with his talents in overseas tournaments.

Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez is a headline-maker no matter what he does.

His antics are almost unrivalled. Check the following article for Tevez' top 10 moments for Manchester City, let alone his entire career.

Carlos Tevez: 10 Best Moments for City

He has scored some great goals, and when he is on form, I'm not even sure it's possible to tackle him, unless of course you want to give away a penalty...and he'll only score anyway.

Joey Barton

While Joey Barton is a decent player, he's simply not as good as he says he is.

Make no mistake, the man thinks he's God. He's incredibly entertaining, unless he's playing for the team you support, due to the countless times he's gotten into trouble.

He starts plenty of fights on the field and plenty of fights on Twitter. He's genuinely brilliant to watch on Match of the Day, and his last moment of entertainment was providing Arsenal winger Gervinho with a lovely little welcome to the Premier League on the opening day of the season.

Freddie Ljunberg

Freddie Ljunberg and Robert Pires formed a great partnership in Arsenal's midfield.

When Pires went down with an ankle injury, Ljunberg came in and performed admirably, and subsequently kept his place in the team with Pires returned.

A true goal-scoring winger and skillful playmaker, Ljunberg was responsible for many a destruction of high-class opposition, and was once the most expensive Swedish player in history.

Peter Schmeichel

For a goalkeeper to be one of the most entertaining players in the Premier League's history is one hell of an achievement.

Peter Schmeichel was, quite simply, amazing to watch. A more agile keeper you are unlikely to see as Schmeichel pulled off world-class save after world-class save.

He is huge contributing factor to Manchester United's UEFA Champions League victory over Bayern Munich, and he has left a legacy in the form of his son, Kasper Schmeichel.

Michael Owen

Michael Owen was entertaining for two reasons.

First, for the buckets of high-quality goals he scored for Liverpool. Owen burst onto the scene at 18 years of age and took the entire country by storm. He formed a lethal partnership with Emile Heskey and maintained a phenomenal record at the Anfield club.

Having returned to England with Newcastle following a relatively unsuccessful spell in Spain with Real Madrid, injuries took their toll on him. He became a groan-and-moan subject as he spent a significant amount of time on the treatment table picking up around £90,000 per week at the Geordie club.

He'll always be remembered for that goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, though.

Robin van Persie

Robin van Persie is currently the figure of renaissance for Arsenal fans everywhere, as he is single-handedly dragging the Gunners up the table by the scruff of the neck.

He is a world-class striker, no doubt. He is one of the most talented left-footed players to have played in the English Premier League and scores some breath-taking goals.

Never underestimate the value of a forward who can take a great free kick and bury a penalty. Van Persie has been a priceless asset to Arsenal for a long, long time.

Faustino Asprilla

The signing of Faustino Asprilla was significant, as it was one of the most major imports.

This man almost made it the popular thing to do for clubs to go and make fancy foreign signings, and he brought another thing other than goals.

His back-flip celebration after scoring was fresh, new, and great to watch at the time. Newcastle were my second team whilst Asprilla represented them.

David Ginola

David Ginola was another who could be described as a wizard.

His fancy footwork and goal threat were a great asset to both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur during his time in England.

He was part of the great Newcastle side who dominated the upper echelons of the English Premier League around a decade ago, and truly made his mark on the competition.

Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona continues to provide us entertainment even though he is long retired.

He is now a film star and the face of Nike advertising campaigns. Before his involvement with the legendary FIFA World Cup 2002 Adidas ad, he was a revered striker for Manchester United.

Out of everyone on this list, Cantona amazes me the most. He scored some of the best goals of all time, and if his attitude didn't make him tabloid-worthy enough, drop-kicking that fan certainly did.

Paulo Di Canio

To finish, I present Paulo Di Canio.

If anything cements you a place in a list like this, it's pushing a referee over and getting an 11-game ban for your troubles.

It wasn't all bad, as he was awarded the FIFA Fair Play gong in 2001. He scored one of the most memorable volleys in Premier League history and received Opta Player of the Season in 1999.

He had exceptional technique and was simply fantastic to watch.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading my list. There are many, many entertaining players to have graced the English Premier League over the years. Too many entertainers to condense into just 25, but I've done my best.

This 25 is a selection influenced by my own opinion and what entertains me as a football viewer and fan.

If I've criminally missed anyone, please feel free to suggest names in the comments and tell us who you found to be the most entertaining.

Follow me on twitter if you like my work: @stighefootball