Rooney, Barry, Crouch? Who are the ultimate Premier League ´Barclaysmen´?

The international window is over, as Premier League football returns this weekend, but the two-week break had supporters reminiscing.

From 2004 to 2016, Barclays was the Premier League’s sponsor.

And in a trend that has taken over social media, “Barclaysmen” have been picked out as players synonymous with that 12-year period.

Here, we take a deep dive into Opta data to find out which players were the actual hallmarks of the Barclays Premier League.

Across the 12 years that Barclays sponsored the Premier League, these were the players to attempt the most shots without scoring:

Aleksey Smertin – 61
Dietmar Hamann – 60
Karl Henry – 56
Doriva – 56
Graham Kavanagh – 51
Dejan Stefanovic – 50
Kyle Naughton – 47
Christophe Berra -… pic.twitter.com/xWz80AiDn7

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 11, 2024

410 – Gareth Barry led the way with 410 matches played for Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton between 2004 and 2016 – he is, of course, also the Premier League’s all-time record holder for appearances too, with a whopping 653 to his name.

James Milner is set to overtake Barry this season, though, and 369 of his 637 matches came in this 12-year span.

178 – Bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old, Wayne Rooney would go on to become one of the greatest goalscorers the division has ever seen.

Starting his career with Everton, Rooney joined Manchester United in 2004, where he won five league titles during the Barclays era.

In that 12-year span, no player scored more goals than the mercurial forward, who netted 178 times, with his former United club-mate Robin van Persie (144) second, ahead of Chelsea’s Frank Lampard (132).

Rooney wasn’t just a goalscorer. He also provided 88 assists in this era, taking his total goal contributions tally to 266, 54 more than the next-best, Lampard (212).

1,430 – Naturally, being the top goalscorer from 2004 and 2016, Rooney also tops the rankings for the most shots taken during that period, with 1,430.

Rooney’s most prolific season came during the 2011-12 campaign, when he netted 27 Premier League goals, but it wasn’t enough to stop rivals Manchester City from lifting their first top-flight title since 1968.

Midfielder Lampard (1,118) is next on the list for shots, with Van Persie (963), Jermain Defoe (939) and Steven Gerrard (919) next.

95 – What about creativity?

When it comes to assists, there were no better in this time span than Cesc Fabregas, who laid on 95 goals across spells at Arsenal and Chelsea.

Interestingly, though, Gerrard (767) led the way for chances created, with Lampard (759) also coming in ahead of Fabregas, though it is worth noting the Spaniard spent time away from the Premier League after leaving Arsenal for Barcelona.

43 – When it comes to headed goals, you won’t be surprised to see that six-foot-seven-inch Peter Crouch led the way, with 43.

Crouch represented Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Spurs and Stoke during the Barclays era, becoming well-known for his lanky frame and ability in the air.

He ‘heads’ the list by 12 goals to former Everton forward Tim Cahill, who scored 31 goals with his head despite being three inches under six foot.

30 – Having come close to having the most goals in the Barclays era, Lampard tops the list for the most goals scored from outside the box across its 12-year timeframe.

Known for his incredible knack of being in the right place at the right time, Lampard’s ability both in and outside the box made him one of the deadliest midfielders the division has ever seen.

Strikes against Norwich City, Fulham and away at Goodison Park are standouts, with the Englishman often finding the back of the net when pulling back his cultured right foot.

11 – While James Ward-Prowse leads the way for the most free-kick goals scored in the Premier League, Sebastian Larsson might just be the true embodiment of a Barclaysman.

The former Arsenal, Birmingham City and Sunderland midfielder scored 11 direct free-kick goals between 2004-05 and 2015-16, one more than five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Morten Gamst Pederson, who must be another candidate for the ultimate Barclaysman.

That being said, who had the most direct free-kick shots? It wasn’t any of the above. Instead, it was Lampard, who tried his luck 173 times, scoring on nine occasions.

486 – Charles N’Zogbia. Remember him?

A star for Wigan Athletic, N’Zogbia completed 486 dribbles during his time in the division. Surprisingly, Glen Johnson, a full-back, was the next best with 481, ahead of Eden Hazard (463).

Remarkably, though, Ronaldo comes in at fifth, and that is despite only playing in five of the Barclays seasons. He completed 449 dribbles in total, an average of 2.7 per game.

1,107 – Jussi Jaaskelainen, the baby-faced Finn, made 1,107 saves in the Barclays era, which puts him ahead of Mark Schwarzer (1,018) and Tim Howard (1,014).

Petr Cech, meanwhile, was the goalkeeper to keep the most clean sheets (178).

Across the 12 years that Barclays sponsored the Premier League, these were the players to be given the most cards:

Lee Cattermole: 91 (84y 7r)
Gareth Barry: 88 (83y 5r)
Wayne Rooney: 74 (72y 2r)
Kevin Nolan: 71 (67y 4r)
Joey Barton: 69 (63y 6r)
Scott Parker: 63 (60y 3r)
Kevin… pic.twitter.com/z4Ls4gKwnW

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 12, 2024

48 – Now time for the unlucky statistics during the Barclays era. During his spells with Arsenal and Man United, no one struck the woodwork more than Robin van Persie.

Despite netting 144 goals in his 280 Premier League appearances, ranking 14th on the all-time list, the Dutchman could have been among the top 10 scorers to play in the division had it not been for the crossbar and posts.

Van Persie also squandered the most big chances (80), though Sergio Aguero (78) was hot on his heels.

910- Out on his own by three, former Aston Villa, Man City and QPR defender Richard Dunne is the unfortunate man to have scored the most own goals between 2001-02 and 2012-13, with 10.

Across his time in the Premier League, the Republic of Ireland did manage to score more goals at the right end, finishing his career in 2015 with 11 top-flight strikes.