The current Fantasy Premier League season has seen some of the game’s premium hitters deliver in some style, Bruno Fernandes leading the way following a sensational start to the season for the Man United attacker.
Fernandes’ 169 points to date leaves him marginally ahead of Son Heung-Min, Mohamed Salah, and Harry Kane in terms of total points, whilst the Man United talisman could yet break the 300-point barrier if he maintains these standards across the course of the campaign.
We’ve decided to look at how the Portuguese star’s season compares to the greatest fantasy assets of all-time, here are the five players to rack up the most FPL points in a single season:
5. Thierry Henry – 273 points (2002/03)
Thierry Henry reigned as the Premier League‘s finest footballer for much of his glittering career at Arsenal, and the 2002/03 season was perhaps the forward at his unparalleled peak.
Henry’s season may not have delivered the Premier League title or even the division’s Golden Boot, but it is a campaign that will live long in the memory and stands as one of the best individual seasons the league has seen.
The Frenchman scored 24 goals to finish one short of Ruud van Nistelrooy, in addition to recording a league-leading 20 assists – a record for a single Premier League season since matched by only Kevin De Bruyne.
20 goals and 20 assists in a single league season this century:
-Thierry Henry 2002-03
-Leo Messi 2019-20End of list. pic.twitter.com/A9emiBCfLY
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 11, 2020
Henry’s performances saw him named as the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year, whilst his 44 goal involvements contributed towards an FPL points haul of 273, the fifth-highest figure in Premier League history.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo – 283 points (2007/08)
Another player whose best seasons in English football saw him reign supreme as the division’s best, Cristiano Ronaldo developed from talented teenager into world superstar during a six-year spell at Manchester United.
Ronaldo’s greatest season for the Red Devils came during the 2007/08 campaign as he inspired Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to a Premier League and Champions League double, scoring 42 goals in all competitions on his way to a first ever Ballon d’Or.
His 31 league goals set a 38-game divisional record at that time and saw him claim the Premier League’s Golden Boot, compiling an FPL score of 283 points with his haul boosted by six assists during a sensational individual season.
Ronaldo would spend just one further season in the Premier League before leaving for Real Madrid in a world-record deal, setting almost unprecedented standards in becoming the Spanish side’s greatest ever goalscorer.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only footballer in the 45-year history of the PFA Players' Player of the Year award to also win the Ballon d'Or in the same year.
In that 2007/08 season, he became the youngest player to score 30+ goals in a 38-game Premier League season. pic.twitter.com/ZMqwxZDram
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 18, 2020
The Portugal international’s finest season saw him score an incredible 48 league goals and provide a further 16 assists in just 35 appearances, a truly mind-boggling rate of productivity that would have seen him shatter all forms of FPL records on these shores.
3. Frank Lampard – 284 points (2009/10)
Goalscoring midfielders are worth their weight in gold to FPL managers and there have been none as productive as Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, the fifth-highest scoring player in Premier League history after amassing 177 top-flight goals.
Lampard was a must-have fantasy asset for much of his career and his peak season came in 2009/10, providing a huge 36 goal involvements from midfield as Carlo Ancelotti’s free-scoring side secured a domestic double.
Lampard netted 22 goals from midfield in addition to providing 14 assists, leading the Premier League for goals provided for the second successive season and for the third time in his career.
2. Luis Suarez – 295 points (2013/14)
Luis Suarez’s virtuoso season in 2013/14 ranks amongst the best the Premier League has seen, the Uruguayan coming close to firing a hugely entertaining Liverpool side to a long-awaited league title under Brendan Rodgers.
Suarez claimed a Footballer of the Year double after winning the Premier League’s Golden Boot with 31 goals, in addition to providing 12 assists with his 43 goal involvements the second-highest figure ever recorded in a 38-game season.
Liverpool’s uber-attacking side ultimately fell short, however, finishing as runners-up to Manchester City despite the exploits of Suarez in what proved to be his final season on Merseyside before leaving for Barcelona.
The forward’s tally incredibly came despite missing the opening five fixtures of the season through suspension, whilst he didn’t take a single penalty with Steven Gerrard on spot-kick duties for the Reds.
1. Mohamed Salah – 303 points (2017/18)
The only player in history to reach the 300-point mark in an FPL season, Mohamed Salah’s returned to the Premier League in spectacular style during the 2017/18 season.
Salah had struggled during an earlier spell in the division with Chelsea but after developing his game in Italy signed for Liverpool in a £34m deal from Roma.
The Egyptian scored on his debut at Watford and continued to score prolifically from then on, smashing the Premier League record for goals in a 38-game season to net 32 times and win the Golden Boot.
Salah also added 12 assists to his collection during a phenomenal season that saw him win the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards, the winger’s haul boosted greatly by his categorisation as a ‘midfielder’ in FPL and cementing his position as a fantasy icon.
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