Despite the sheer volume of widely admired stars to have made their mark on the Beautiful Game as we know it today, defining football’s out-in-out ‘cult heroes’ remains a task somewhat easier said than done in the modern era.

The cult hero can seemingly stand out among his contemporaries on the basis of several different factors. Whilst many develop their promising reputation through a unique brand of flair and ability with the ball at their feet, others simply gain such a status for proving distinctly loyal to their club’s cause and hard working out on the pitch to boot.

Throughout the years, the cult hero has often been produced out of unlikely circumstances and against the status-quo. From the admittedly useless players that nonetheless manage to win over their fans through sheer determination alone, to the unpredictable mavericks whose very own inconsistency issues ultimately serve to heighten their overall mystique in the end – every club has made room for a few cult heroes along the way.

So then, in light of such discussion surrounding several of football’s more surprising poster-boys, here are 50 of the best cult heroes the Premier League has ever paid witness to…

50. Luis Garcia

Luis Garcia

49. George Boateng

boateng

48. Julian Speroni

Julian Speroni

47. Carlton Cole

Carlton Cole

46. Luis Boa Morte

boa morte

45. Jonas Gutierrez

Jonas Goaltierrez

44. Juliano Belletti

Juliano Belletti

43. Per Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker

42. Attilio Lombardo

Attilio Lombardo (Crystal Palace: 97-99)

41. John Arne Riise

John Arne Riise

40. Dennis Wise

Dennis Wise

39. Paulo Wanchope

Paulo Wanchope

38. Adi Akinbiyi

37. Temuri Ketsbaia

Temuri Ketsbaia

36. Tim Cahill

tim cahill

35. Slaven Bilic

Bilic west ham

34. Massimo Maccarone

Massimo Maccarone

33. Carlo Cudicini

33. Carlo Cudicini

32. Eduardo

eduardo

31. Niall Quinn

quinn

30. Mark Noble

Mark Noble

29. Tony Hibbert

Tranmere Rovers v Everton - Pre Season Friendly

28. Ivan Campo

Ivan Campo

27. Fabrizio Ravanelli

ravenelli

26. Jens Lehmann

Jens Lehmann

25. Peter Crouch

peter crouch

24. Sami Hyypia

Sami Hyypia

23. Diego Forlan

Diego Forlan – Manchester United, three years

22. Shola Ameobi

Shola Ameobi

21. Park Ji-Sung

Park Ji-Sung

20. Tugay

Tugay

19. Jerzy Dudek

Jerzy Dudek

18. The Neville Brothers

The Neville Brothers

17. Nolberto Solano

Nolberto Solano

16. Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink

Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink

15. Vinnie Jones

Vinnie Jones

14. Nwankwo Kanu

Kanu, Arsenal

13. Emile Heskey

Emile Heskey

12. Jay-Jay Okocha

okocha

11. Dirk Kuyt

Dirk Kuyt

10. Ray Parlour

Ray Parlour celebrates scoring the 1st Arsenal goal. Arsenal 2:0 Chelsea

9. Emmanuel Eboue

Emmanuel Eboue

8. Duncan Ferguson

Duncan Ferguson

7. Jimmy Bullard

Jimmy Bullard

6. Olof Mellberg

Olof Mellberg

5. Paolo Di Canio

Paolo Di Canio - West Ham

4. Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola - Chelsea

3. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

2. Matt Le Tissier

Matt Le Tissier

1. Eric Cantona

1993 - Ferguson's first Premier League title