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From Jimmy Greaves to Gareth Bale, we pick out the top 10 greatest Spurs players of all time and reveal our No. 1.
Some of the biggest names in football have donned the Lilywhite jersey of Tottenham Hotspur since the club was formed in 1882, with some of the best Premier League players of all time excelling for Spurs in recent years.
Here is our list of the 10 best Spurs players ever from their 143-year history, and make sure to check out our football betting page for the latest Spurs odds and markets.
Top 10 best Spurs players ever
10. Ledley King
Maurice Norman, Mike England, Richard Gough and Tottenham pantomime villain Sol Campbell could all be considered great Spurs centre-halves but Ledley King was perhaps the best of the lot.
The one-club man played 323 games for Tottenham before his retirement in 2014, displaying great athleticism and leadership despite the fact his knees meant he was unable to train for much of the week.
9. Pat Jennings
Pat Jennings is one of the greatest British goalkeepers of all time, let alone a Spurs great.
After signing from Watford in 1964, Jennings, who played 119 times for Northern Ireland, made 472 appearances for Tottenham before being allowed to leave in 1977 for Arsenal, where he played for another eight seasons.
8. Jurgen Klinsmann
Tottenham landed a real coup when they signed Jurgen Klinsmann in 1994 and although his spell at White Hart Lane was not long, he did not disappoint.
He scored 30 goals during his initial one-season stop, but after leaving for Bayern Munich and Sampdoria, he returned for a loan spell in the 1997-98 season, when nine goals in 15 games helped Tottenham avoid relegation.
7. Luka Modric
Luka Modric is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and his development at Tottenham played a big part in him achieving that status.
The Croatian was one of the tidiest players ever to feature for the club, having joined the summer after Spurs won the League Cup under Juande Ramos and then flourishing under his replacement Harry Redknapp before heading to Real Madrid.
6. Osvaldo Ardiles
Modric would have reminded older fans of Ossie Ardiles, who arrived at White Hart Lane to great fanfare after playing a key role in Argentina’s 1978 World Cup victory.
Quick and graceful, Ardiles was a ball winner who hardly tackled anyone. His timing and skills were a regular feature of the Tottenham side that were easy on the eye in the 1980s, even if his spell at the club was punctuated by a difficult period during the Falklands War.
Would be right at the top of the list for any Spurs fan in their 50s or 60s.
5. Harry Kane
One of their own, Harry Kane’s persistence in his quest to be one of the world’s top strikers is what adhered him to Tottenham fans as he came through the academy system.
Having been sent out on numerous loan spells, he established himself as the main striker under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino.
Kane scored a club record 280 goals for Tottenham, cementing his place as one of the best Premier League forwards ever before leaving for Bayern Munich as the second-highest Premier League goalscorer of all time behind Alan Shearer, while he is also England’s highest goalscorer with 71 goals and counting.
4. Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale struggled initially when he joined Tottenham as a teenager from Southampton but a move forward from left-back changed his life.
He became one of the best attackers in world football, firing Spurs almost single-handedly into the Champions League and a series of exhilarating performances, which fans will never forget, persuaded Real Madrid to pay £90m to sign him.
3. Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne is one of the most talented British footballers ever and while he captured the nation’s hearts at the 1990 World Cup, it was at Tottenham where he was seen at his best.
Gazza in full flow was a sight to behold and while his 1991 FA Cup final appearance ended with a serious self-inflicted injury, his outrageous free-kick that opened the scoring in the semi-final against Arsenal was voted the club’s greatest goal by fans.
2. Glenn Hoddle
No player epitomised what supporters would regard as the Tottenham philosophy of playing more than Glenn Hoddle.
He played 490 games for Spurs, scoring 110 goals, some of which will go down as the greatest in the club’s history, as well as the winner in the 1982 FA Cup final replay against QPR.
Spectacular strikes, sublime skill and unparalleled passing vision made him one player fans flocked to White Hart Lane to watch. And he would always produce something that would make you want to go back for more.
1. Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves is regarded as the greatest striker of his generation and many others.
His 357 career goals all came in the top division, which is the record for English top-flight football, and 220 came for Spurs after he was signed by Bill Nicholson following the First Division-FA Cup double-winning season of 1960-61.
He helped Spurs to two further FA Cup triumphs and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1963 and while Kane would go on to beat his club goals record, no Spurs player could come close to his speed, anticipation and finishing ability.
Spurs all-time XI
Here is how a team of Spurs’ all-time greats may line up:
GK: Pat Jennings
CB: Jan Vertonghen
CB: Ledley King
CB: Gary Mabbutt
RM: Glenn Hoddle
CM: Ossie Ardiles
CM: Luka Modric
CM: Paul Gascoigne
LM: Gareth Bale
ST: Jimmy Greaves
ST: Harry Kane
Who is Tottenham’s best player of all time?
Jimmy Greaves is considered arguably Spurs’ best ever player. The English striker was incredibly prolific in front of goal, with 220 league goals in 321 games during his time at Tottenham. Other contenders include Harry Kane, Glenn Hoddle, Gareth Bale and Paul Gascoigne.
