The international window is over, as Premier League football returns this weekend, but the two-week break had supporters reminiscing. (More Football News)
From 2004 to 2𝓀016, ▨Barclays was the Premier League's sponsor.
And in 💝a trend that has taken over social media, "Barclaysmen" have been picked out as players synonymous with that 12-year period.
Here, we take a deep dive into Opta data toℱ find o🍸ut which players were the actual hallmarks of the Barclays Premier League.
410 - Gareth Barry led the way withཧ 410 matches played for Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton between 2004 and 20♋16 – he is, of course, also the Premier League's all-time record holder for appearances too, with a whopping 653 to his name.
James Milner is set to overtake Barry this season, though, and 369 of his 637 matches came in this 12-y🍸ear span.
178 - Bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old, Wayne Rooney would go on to become one of the greatest goal𓆉scorers the division has ever seen.&𓄧nbsp;
Starting his career with Everton, Rooney joined Manchester United in 200♎4, where he won five league titles during the Barclays era.
In that 12-year span, no player scored more goals than the mercurial forward, who netted 178&nbs✃p;times, with his former United club-mate Robin van Persie (144) second, ahead of Chelsea's Frank Lampard (132).
Rooney wasn't just a goalscorer. He also provided 88 assists in this era, taking his total goal contributions tally to 266, 54 more than the next-best, Lampard♚ (ജ212).
1,430 - Nat🥃urally, being the top goalscorer from 2004 and 2016, Rooney also tops the rankings for the most shots taken during tha💯t period, with 1,430.
Roo🐬ney's most prolific season came during the 2011-12 campaign, when he netted 27 Premier League goals, but it wasn't enough to stop rivals Manchester City from lifting their first top-flight title since 1968.
Midfielder Lampard (1,118) is next on the list for shots, with Van Persie (963), Jermain Defoe (939) and Steven Gerrard (919) nex🦂t.
95 - What about creativity?
When it comes to assists, there were no better in this time sp𒁏an than Cesc Fabregas, who laid on 95 goals across spells at Arsenal and Chelsea.
Interestingly, though, Gerrard (767) led the way for chances created, with Lampard (759) also coming in ahead of Fabregas, though it is worth noting the Spaniard spent time away from the Premier League after leaving Arsenal for Barcelona.
43 - When it comes to headed goals, you won't be surprised to see that six-foot-seven-inch Peter Crouch led t🍎he way, with 43.
Crouch represented Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouꦏth, Spurs and Stoke during the Barclays era, becoming well-known f⭕or his lanky frame and ability in the air.
He 'heads'ꦚ the list by 12 goals to former Everton forward Tim Cah🤡ill, who scored 31 goals with his head despite being three inches under six foot.
30 - Having come close to having the most goals in the Barclays era, Lampard tops t🙈he list for the most goals scored from outside the box across its 12-year timeframe.
Known for his incredible knack of being in the right place at the right time, Lampard's ability both in and outside the box made him one♈ of the deadliest m🐻idfielders the division has ever seen.
Strikes against Norwich City, Fulham and away at Goodison Park are𒈔 standouts, with the Englishman often finding the back of the net when pulling back his cultured right foot.
11 - While James Ward-Prowse leads the way for the most free-kick goals scored in the Premier League, Sebastian Larsson might just be the true embodiment of a Barclays♓man.
The former Arsenal, Birmingham City and Sunderland midfieไlder scored 11 direct free-kick goals between 2004-05 and 2015-16, one more than five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Morten Gamst Pederson, who must be another candidate for the ultimജate Barclaysman.
That being said, who had the most direct free-kick shots? It wasꦛn't any of the above. Instead, it was Lampard, who tried his luck 173 times, scorin🉐g on nine occasions.
486 - Charles N'Zogbia. Remember him?
A star for Wigan Athletic, N'Zogbia completed 486 dribbles during his time in the division. Surprisingly, Glen Johnson, a full-back, was the next best with 481, ahead𝓀 of Ede🍸n Hazard (463).
Remarkably, though, Ronaldo comes in at fifth, and that is despite only playing in five of the ♍Barclays seasons. He completed 449 dribbles in total, an average of 2.7 per game.
1,107 - Jussi Jaaskelainen, the 𒐪baby-faced F🌜inn, made 1,107 saves in the Barclays era, which puts him ahead of Mark Schwarzer (1,018) and Tim Howard (1,014).
Petr Cech, meanwhile, wasℱ the goalkeeper to keep theꦫ most clean sheets (178).
48 - Now 🍌time for the unlucky statistics during the Barclays era. D♔uring his spells with Arsenal and Man United, no one struck the woodwork more than Robin van Persie.
Despite netting 144 goals in his 280 Premier League appearances, ranking 14th on the all-time🤡 list, the Dutchman coul꧙d have been among the top 10 scorers to play in the division had it not been for the crossbar and posts.
✨Van Persie also squandered the most big chances🌠 (80), though Sergio Aguero (78) was hot on his heels.
910- Out on his own by three, former Aston Villa, Man City and QPR defender Richard Dunne is the unfortunate man to have scored the most own goals betwe🅘en 2001-02 andܫ 2012-13, with 10.
Across his time in the Premier Lea🔯gue, the Republic of Ireland did manage to score more goals at the right end, finishing his career in💃 2015 with 11 top-flight strikes.
