WSL 21st Century rankings GFXGOAL

Vivianne Miedema, Sam Kerr and the 25 best Women's Super League players of the 21st century so far - ranked

English women's football entered a new era in 2011 when the Women's Super League was established. In the time since, the league has grown rapidly, and is now fully professional and widely considered the best in the entire women's game. As such, it been able to boast plenty of world-class talent, be they homegrown stars or international icons.

Just as men's football existed before 1992 and the Premier League, women's football in England was of course important before 2011. After all, in 2007, the greatest achievement of any women's club team in the country's history was achieved when Arsenal upset Swedish giants Umea, regarded as 'the Galacticos of women's football', to win the UEFA Women's Cup (now the Champions League).

However, the lack of widespread funding and support for women's football in the pre-WSL era makes it a difficult period to accurately analyse and assess when it comes to ranking the greatest players in the English top-flight. It means that while icons such as Kelly Smith, Alex Scott and Rachel Yankey did play in the WSL, their names are absent from this particular list due to the brief nature of their experiences in the division.

So, who are the greatest WSL players of all time? GOAL ranks the absolute cream of the crop...

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