It doesn’t take much to spot a ‘football maverick’ among his colleagues, even if such widely admired characters of the sport remain a somewhat dying breed in the modern game today.

Be it through sheer talent and unquestionable skill with the ball at their feet, a level of vision that us mere mortals will never be able to possess, an increasingly flamboyant approach to life on and off the pitch, or simply just by having a crazy hair-style that isn’t likely to catch on any time soon – quite frankly, the real football maverick doesn’t even care about how he’s portrayed in the media.

Whilst most mavericks of the Beautiful Game largely have to go down as some of football’s best ever players, success is not always a necessary requirement for falling into such a seemingly vague category in the first place.

On the contrary, most mavericks have picked up their memorable status through a combination of different factors, with actual technical ability arriving as just one of many. Expressing the uniqueness of your character arguably remains a more important trait…

So then, in light of the joy and excitement such players have brought to the English game throughout the years, here are 50 of the Premier League’s favourite football mavericks…

50. Paul Scharner

Wigan midfielder Paul Scharner

49. Djibril Cisse

djibril cisse

48. Aleksandar Mitrovic

mitrovic

47. Abel Xavier

Abel Xavier

46. Pablo Osvaldo

45. Ali Dia

Ali Dia

44. David James

David James

43. Nicklas Bendtner

A new striker

42. Adrian Mutu

mutu

41. Emmanuel Adebayor

Adebayor

40. Rafael van der Vaart

van der vaart

39. Alexander Hleb

hleb

38. Adel Taarabt

Get the best out of Berbatov and Taarabt

37. Neil Ruddock

ruddock

36. Jay-Jay Okocha

okocha

35. Nolberto Solano

Nolberto Solano

34. David Silva

David Silva

33. Hatem Ben Arfa

Hatem Ben Arfa

32. Andrey Arshavin

Andrey Arshavin

31. Tomas Repka

Tomas Repka

30. Marco Materazzi

materazzi

29. Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil

28. Nicolas Anelka

West Brom Striker Nicolas Anelka

27. Luka Modric

A replacement for Modric

26. Carlos Tevez

Argentina v Portugal - International Friendly

25. Robert Pires

Left Midfield - Robert Pires

24. Ravel Morrison

Ravel-Morrison

23. Juninho

Juninho (Middlesbrough: 95-97/99-00/02-04)

22. Alex Song

Alex Song

21. Joey Barton

Joey Barton

20. Paul Merson

Paul Merson

19. Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov

18. Jimmy Bullard

Jimmy Bullard

17. Wayne Rooney

Rooney 1

16. Robbie Fowler

Robbier Fowler

15. David Luiz

Luiz

14. Jens Lehmann

Jens Lehmann

13. Cristiano Ronaldo

C Ronaldo Man United

12. Jurgen Klinsmann

USA's Secret Weapon

11. Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola - Chelsea

10. Luis Suarez

Suarez

9. Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry

8. David Ginola

Ledley King Guest XI v Tottenham Hotspur - Ledley King Testimonial

7. Matt Le Tissier

Matt Le Tissier

6. Vinnie Jones

Vinnie Jones

5. Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli

4. Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp - Arsenal

3. Paolo Di Canio

Paolo Di Canio

2. Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne

1. Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona