10 greatest English footballers of all time

#5 Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker earned the nickname ' El Matador' at Barcelona

Amongst some of the greatest marksmen that the Three Lions have ever produced, Gary Lineker has a fine resume to showcase and claim a spot amongst the top 3 English strikers of all time.

As one of the greatest marksmen of his age, Lineker was nimble-footed and relied massively on his technical ability to score goals. His positional sense was second to none; it made him a quintessential fox-in-the-box striker, allowing him to score innumerable tap-ins and headers. His ability to deceive defences to create room for scoring goals saw him aptly earn the nickname ‘El Matador’ during his tenure with Barcelona.

Gary Lineker found the net 281 times in 567 games as a professional footballer. He is also the third highest goalscorer for England behind Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton. He also holds the record for scoring the most number of goals for his country at the World Cup (10).

Gary Lineker is also one of the modest gentlemen that football has ever seen; the Englishman received the FIFA Fair Play award in 1990 for never being booked in his entire career.