MANCHESTER CITY are this year’s Premier League champions with their biggest stars getting a medal around their necks.
Jurgen Klopp’s all-conquering Liverpool team were given 40 medals to distribute between their players and staff last season.
Under current rules, 23 players are guaranteed medals if they have made five appearances in the league or more – the qualifying threshold for acquiring one.
But not everyone will make the cut and will just have to go without – just like these past title winners below.
GARY NEVILLE
The legendary Manchester United right back has eight Premier League winners’ medals with the club, which is nothing to sneeze at.
But the Sky Sports pundit could have had 10 in seasons 17 years apart.
Neville made his debut during the 1993-94 season, but only managed one appearance at a time when you needed 10 league appearances to qualify – a rule that changed in 2012 to five.
Then, in the 2009-10 season when United were crowned champions, Neville was stuck on four before he retired midway through the campaign.
MO SALAH
The Egyptian forward picked up a medal last season as his goals helped propel Liverpool to glory.
But having left title-chasing Chelsea halfway through the 2014-15 season for a loan move to Fiorentina, he missed out on another with the Blues.
Salah had just three appearances to his name, and was ineligible to receive a medal, when he was swapped for Juan Cuadrado.
Ironically, Cuadrado – a Chelsea flop – DID get one after appearing fourteen times for the club.
OWEN HARGREAVES
Given the former Bayern Munich midfielder’s injury problems, it’s no surprise that Hargreaves missed out on medals at Manchester United.
The BT Sport pundit also had the misfortune of missing out on a Premier League winners’ medal at Manchester City too.
He did get one for his star-turn during the 2007-08 season for the Red Devils, but the seasons he missed out were in 2009 and 2011.
And he only played once for City when they stormed to the title in 2012.
DAVID BATTY
The former England international and Leeds legend was part of the Blackburn Rovers side that shocked the world to win the Premier League in 1995.
Although he was an integral squad member, an injury kept him on the sidelines and he played just five times – again, when he needed 10.
Rovers did offer Batty a winners’ medal, however he declined because he felt he didn’t contribute enough during the season.
He never won a Premier League winners’ medal after that, finishing runners-up with Newcastle in 1996 and 1997.
FEDERICO MACHEDA
Macheda can, perhaps, count himself a little unlucky not to have one.
Especially given what he did for Manchester United, when they seemed dead and buried against Aston Villa.
His winning goal in the dying moments to secure a miraculous comeback and a 3-2 win helped United stay on track to win the Premier League in 2009.
He played four times that season, scoring twice, but was unfortunate to miss out.
Macheda would miss out again in 2010-11.
SCOTT PARKER
The Fulham manager didn’t quite fit in at the Blues after he was signed by Jose Mourinho from Charlton in 2004.
And he didn’t get enough appearances under his belt in Chelsea’s 2004-05 title-winning season – managing just four games.
Parker left West London the following summer, playing for Newcastle, West Ham, Tottenham and Fulham along the way.
He never got a sniff of a title ever again.
NEMANJA MATIC
It’s fair to say defensive midfielder Matic made up for his early disappointment by winning Premier League winners’ medals in 2015 and 2017 for Chelsea.
But in his first year with the West London giants, Carlo Ancelotti only gave him two run outs as they stormed to the Double in 2009-10.
He left Chelsea in 2011 for Benfica, winning the Portuguese league in 2013.
Matic returned to the Premier League with Man Utd that same year with unfinished business.
WES BROWN
The United defender won five Premier League titles under Sir Alex Ferguson.
However, he was limited to just eight appearances in 2008-09 because of injury.
It meant Brown missed out adding a fifth medal to his collection.
Two years later, history repeated itself when he missed out on another medal.
MICAH RICHARDS
In 2012, Richards could do no wrong – helping Man City to their first ever Premier League title.
The defender was even shortlisted for the club’s Player of the Year award that season – losing in the end to Sergio Aguero.
But his contribution in 2013-14 was minimal.
Injury and bad form saw him slip down the pecking order at the club.
Just two league appearances meant he missed out on a medal, and he was soon loaned out to Fiorentina before he was released in 2015.
ANDREJ KRAMARIC
Leicester City made Kramaric their record signing in 2015, splashing £9million on the Croatian striker.
But, as it turned out, they didn’t really need him.
A certain Jamie Vardy rose to prominence and kept Kramaric out of the Leicester side, as they miraculously won the Premier League in the 2015-16 season.
He was loaned out in the January transfer window in 2016 to Hoffenheim, having only appeared twice before then.
It meant no winners’ medal for Kramaric.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
