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Former Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United stars feature among the finest players never to be named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Steven Gerrard holds the record for the most appearances in the side, with an outstanding eight selections, but what about the players who were repeatedly passed over?

Here, we’ve ranked the 10 best footballers who were never included in the team at all.

Despite registering 19 assists in a single Premier League season, Mesut Ozil never managed to secure a place in the PFA Team of the Year.

At the peak of his powers in 2015-16, N’Golo Kante, Dele Alli and Dimitri Payet were all chosen ahead of Ozil.

Although the German playmaker was not to everyone’s taste, he was an elite creator of chances and delivered several top-class seasons in England.

Across 184 Premier League appearances, he produced an impressive 90 goal contributions for the Gunners from midfield.

A three-time Premier League winner with Manchester United, Steve Bruce is one of the most decorated players ever to be overlooked by the PFA.

His team-mate Gary Pallister generally received much of the acclaim, making the PFA Team of the Year on five occasions while playing for United.

Bruce was far more than just a defender; he was also a natural goalscorer. In 417 appearances for United, he scored a remarkable 52 goals.

Another defender overlooked on several occasions by the PFA was Ricardo Carvalho.

While John Terry made the team four times, his Portuguese team-mate was consistently ignored.

In 2005-06, Chelsea won the Premier League title and conceded only 22 goals. Even so, Carvalho missed out on the Team of the Year, with Terry and Jamie Carragher selected ahead of him.

Despite winning three Premier League titles overall, it still was not enough to earn him a place in any PFA team.

The PFA Team of the Year was packed with Arsenal players in 2003-04, yet Freddie Ljungberg still failed to make the cut.

He arguably enjoyed his best individual campaign in 2001-02, but in the eyes of the PFA he trailed Robert Pires and Ryan Giggs that year. Some player.

A footballer so influential that a role was named after him. Claude Makelele was a dominant force during his peak years at Chelsea, yet he never received a PFA nomination.

Competition for places in the PFA Team of the Year was intense in the mid-2000s, but it still feels as though the Frenchman deserved at least one selection.

By comparison, N’Golo Kante, whom many have described as Makelele’s successor in the Premier League, was included in the PFA team twice.

Even winning the Golden Boot on two separate occasions was not enough for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to claim a place in the PFA Team of the Year.

In the seasons when he finished as the league’s top scorer, Dwight Yorke, Nicolas Anelka, Teddy Sheringham and Thierry Henry were all ahead of him in the PFA pecking order.

Only four foreign players have scored more Premier League goals than Hasselbaink, who struck an excellent 127 times in 288 appearances for Leeds and Chelsea.

Never winning the Premier League probably damaged Xabi Alonso’s hopes of making the team, although that did not stop several of his Liverpool team-mates from being included.

Indeed, Gerrard holds the record for the most PFA team selections and he never lifted the trophy.

The Spanish holding midfielder was one of the league’s best technical players during the 2000s and surely came close to making the PFA list on a few occasions.

“I couldn’t ask for a better midfield partner and when you left it broke my heart,” Gerrard once said.

One of the most technically gifted players the Premier League has ever seen, Gianfranco Zola was a delight to watch during his seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge.

In 1997, the Italian was named the FWA Footballer of the Year, but still did not make the PFA team. Instead, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer occupied the striker positions in that XI.

Regardless of his lack of PFA selections, Zola unquestionably remains one of the most naturally gifted players ever to grace the Premier League.

If these players are being ranked by the quality of their entire career, Luka Modric probably deserves to be at No. 1.

While most people remember him for his brilliance with Real Madrid and Croatia, it is easy to forget how exceptional he was for Tottenham in the Premier League.

The Croatian was undoubtedly performing at a world-class standard in his final two seasons with Spurs, but even that was not enough to earn him a place in the PFA team.

In his final and arguably best season for Spurs in 2011-12, his Tottenham team-mate Scott Parker made the PFA Team of the Year ahead of Modric, which certainly raised a few eyebrows.

Given that he has since won the Ballon d’Or, Modric is unlikely to lose much sleep over the lack of recognition from the PFA.

Nicknamed ‘God’ by Liverpool supporters, Robbie Fowler is one of the most natural finishers the Premier League has ever produced.

He is also the only player to have scored more than 160 Premier League goals without ever being included in the PFA Team of the Year.

In fairness, he was competing against elite opposition during his peak years, but it is still hard to believe he did not receive at least one nomination.