The outgoing Match of the Day presenter has named his favourite Premier League players but ex-Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is among the legendary players to miss out
Gary Lineker left out Frank Lampard when listing his favourite 11 players from the Premier League era. Lineker will present his final episode of BBC highlights show Match of the Day on Sunday evening and has marked the occasion by picking his favourite players.
The former England striker is stepping down as the programme’s presenter in the wake of a scandal about his social media use. Lineker apologised for a post he had shared on Instagram about Zionism which featured a picture of a rat.
The 64-year-old has fronted Match of the Day since 1999 and will be given an emotional send-off on Sunday night, with a montage planned of his best bits in the role. For many, he is now best known as a presenter, rather than a footballer, and has become synonymous with the Premier League.
Having spent 26 years talking about the competition on the TV, Lineker has a depth of knowledge about the Premier League. But whittling down his favourite players to just 11 was clearly a difficult task.
READ MORE: Premier League final day LIVE: Amorim’s Man Utd message and Wirtz to Liverpool transfer latestREAD MORE: Sky Sports confirms major Premier League changes ahead of last day of season
As a former Tottenham player and an ardent Leicester supporter, there were some obvious choices, with Jamie Vardy coming at the top of the list on the Premier League website. “My Leicester bias obviously, but it’s for what he’s done at Leicester, coming to the club when he was in his mid-20s, [costing] a million quid,” he said. “He’s just left, he’s just finished for Leicester and he’s been incredible. Goalscoring machine.”
Riyad Mahrez also got the nod, having starred in Leicester’s famous 2016 title win. “More than anything else, it was [because of] his first touch, he brought it down like it was always a feather landing on his foot,” Lineker said.
“I’ve never known anyone with such a touch, he’s right up there with the likes of – not his overall ability, but in terms of his first touch – any of the players that you can think of.”
Lineker said his criteria was based on “players that have given me a lot of pleasure, a lot of joy, over the period of time that I’ve presented the Premier League”. That meant shout-outs for greats like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry and current players like Harry Kane, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah, but surprisingly not Lampard.
“Frank Lampard to start with – a goalscoring midfield player who was incredible,” he said. “It was difficult leaving out people like Frank because I know him well. Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was really hard, and [David] Beckham as well – he is another one, a little bit like De Bruyne, that I would have loved to have played with.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you make of Gary Lineker’s choices? Comment below.
Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale both made the cut, having lit the league up for Chelsea and Tottenham respectively. But the likes of Luis Suarez, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, N’Golo Kante, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, David Silva and David Beckham were just honourable mentions.
Full list of Gary Lineker’s favourite 11 Premier League players: Jamie Vardy, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Eden Hazard, Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Gareth Bale, Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
