- Stick to Football have named the best Premier League players of each era
- Manchester United dominated the first two decades
- Two Manchester City players were included later on
The Stick to Football podcast have named the best player of each Premier League era and two Manchester City figures have been included.
On this week’s episode of Stick to Football, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and co have selected the best Premier League player of each decade.
Manchester United legend Eric Cantona won the vote for the ‘90s, while Wayne Rooney, Thiery Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo all received a shout-out for the next 10 years.
However, when the discussion moved to 2010 onwards, there was less talk about Manchester United and Arsenal, as the focus shifted to Manchester City’s stars.
Stick to Football heap praise on Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne
When Neville asked who the best player was from 2010 to 2020, Carragher instantly responded with Kevin De Bruyne’s name and the rest of the group agreed.
Best player of every Premier League era… 👀
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) March 24, 2026
Who are you picking? 🐐 pic.twitter.com/losxFevjim
Roy Keane even added “no hesitation,” making it clear that this decision was not even a close call. In fact, Bukayo Saka was the only other player mentioned and this was nothing more than a humorous suggestion by ex-Arsenal forward Ian Wright.
Then for the current era, Neville named Erling Haaland as his star man, but everyone else decided to give the crown to Rodri, with Wright reminding everyone of his Ballon d’Or win.
Manchester City must look to build another generational talent
De Bruyne was extraordinary at Man City, but the time was right for the Belgian to bid farewell last summer.
Rodri may be a few years younger, but he too could be exiting the Etihad Stadium for the final time in the not too distant future.
The Spain international only has just over a year remaining on his contract and there is no available information to suggest he is about to sign a new deal.
Therefore, Man City must look to their younger players to see who they can develop and grow to become the best player of the next era in the Premier League.
