Some former Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United stars rank among some of the best players who were never named to the PFA Team of the Year.
According to Planet Football.com, here is a compiled list of the 10 best players who never earned a spot in the PFA Team of the Year, highlighting some surprising omissions from the prestigious lineup.
Mesut Ozil
Despite once producing 19 assists in a single Premier League season, Ozil never earned himself a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
During his peak season in 2015-16, N’Golo Kante, Dele Alli, and Dimitri Payet all got the nod ahead of Ozil in the team.
While the German playmaker wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, he was an elite chance creator who had several quality seasons in England.
In 184 Premier League matches, he produced an impressive 90 goal contributions for the Gunners from midfield.
Steve Bruce
A three-time Premier League champion with Man United, Bruce is one of the most successful players to be snubbed by the PFA.
His teammate, Gary Pallister, usually took most of the praise as he made the PFA Team of the Year on five occasions while playing for United.
Bruce was much more than just a defender, though; he was also a natural goalscorer. In 417 appearances for United, he scored an impressive 52 goals.
Ricardo Carvalho
Another defender subbed on multiple occasions by the PFA was Carvalho.
While John Terry made the team on four occasions, his Portuguese teammate was consistently overlooked.
In 2005-06, Chelsea won the Premier League title and only conceded 22 goals. However, Carvalho missed out on the Team of the Year as Terry and Jamie Carragher were selected ahead of him.
Despite winning three Premier League titles in total, that still wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in any PFA team.
Freddie Ljungberg
The PFA Team of the Year was dominated by Arsenal players in 2003-04, but Ljungberg still didn’t manage to make the cut.
He probably had his best individual season in 2001-02, but he was behind Robert Pires and Ryan Giggs that year in the eyes of the PFA.
Claude Makelele
In comparison, N’Golo Kante, who many have described as Makelele’s successor in the Premier League, was included in the PFA team on two occasions.
. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Despite winning the Golden Boot on two separate occasions, it still wasn’t enough for Hasselbaink to earn himself a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
During the years he was the league’s top scorer, Dwight Yorke, Nicolas Anelka, Teddy Sheringham, and Thierry Henry were ahead of him in the PFA pecking order.
Only four foreign players have scored more Premier League goals than Hasselbaink, who bagged an impressive 127 strikes in 288 appearances for Leeds and Chelsea.
Xabi Alonso
Never winning the Premier League probably harmed Alonso’s chances of being involved in the team, but that didn’t stop several of his Liverpool teammates from getting inclusions.
Indeed, Gerrard holds the record for the most PFA team nominations, and he never got his hands on the trophy.
The Spanish holding midfielder was one of the best technical players in the league during the 2000s and was surely close to making the PFA list on a few occasions.
I couldn’t ask for a better midfield partner, and when you left, it broke my heart,
is what Gerrard once said.
Gianfranco Zola
One of the most technically gifted players that the Premier League has ever seen, Zola was a joy to watch during his seven-year stint at Stamford Bridge.
In 1997, the Italian was named the FWA Footballer of the Year, but he still didn’t make the cut for the PFA team. Instead, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer took up the striker spots in that XI.
Regardless of his lack of PFA nominations, Zola still undoubtedly ranks among the most naturally gifted players to ever grace the Premier League.
Luka Modric
If we’re ranking these players by their entire career, Modric probably deserves the top spot.
While most people know him for his heroics with Real Madrid and Croatia, it’s easy to forget just how good he was while playing for Tottenham in the Premier League.
The Croatian was undoubtedly performing at a world-class level during his last two seasons with Spurs, but that still wasn’t enough to earn him a place in the PFA team.
During his last and arguably best season for Spurs in 2011-12, his Tottenham teammate Scott Parker made the PFA Team of the Year ahead of Modric, which raised some eyebrows.
Given that he’s since won the Ballon d’Or, Modric probably won’t be losing any sleep over his lack of recognition by the PFA.
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Source: Punch Newspaper
