‘The Barclays’. While the Premier League was technically sponsored by the aforementioned bank between 2001-16, the period which is so wistfully looked back upon by fans of a certain vintage is the first decade of the 2000s.
After its initial emergence in 1992, the English top flight enjoyed a secondary boom in popularity following the turn of the millennium, as overseas television deals and a secondary influx of foreign stars gave the league a truly global appeal. It played host to a number of the game’s modern icons, too, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba among those who lit up the Premier League on a weekly basis.
When fans talk about ‘The Barclays’, though, it is not those household names they are referring to. Instead it is the players who were largely in the background when it came to being headline-grabbing, but were seen as key cogs in the Premier League machine by die-hard fans, while still able to produce moments of magic on occasion.
These players have come to be known as the ‘Barclaysmen’, but what made them so beloved, and what became of them once their Barclays life was over? Here at GOAL, we will endeavour to find out with our latest series, ‘Ultimate Barclaysmen’.
When you think of the ultimate ‘Barclaysman’, one name in particular springs to mind: Blackburn Rovers legend Morten Gamst Pedersen. Quite simply, he ticks all the boxes: a back catalogue of outrageous goals, a cannon of a left foot, a mop of highlighted blonde hair, adidas Predators and a storied career with one of the Premier League’s unfancied sides. A man with one of the best highlight reels around, Pedersen is an alternative icon.