This weekend, the Premier League reaches its 10,000th match. To mark the occasion we asked our football writers to nominate their favourite Premier League player.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Like Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo was a rarity: a megastar created in English football. His willingness to join Manchester United as an 18-year-old was, in retrospect, a miracle. Nascent world-class players seldom move from the Iberian countries to make their names in the Premier League, but Ronaldo escaped the clutches of Real Madrid to develop his brilliance here, where he scored 84 times in 196 league games and raised the entertainment level all by himself. You would watch a United game just to see his mesmerising skill and lightning attacks. That's a true indicator of talent. Paul Hayward
Paul Scholes
It is hard to create a Scholes, although English football has basically established its entire modern academy...