To celebrate 20 years of Barclays involvement in the Premier League, football’s greatest moments in recent memory have been brought together for a competition called ‘Shot of the Century’, with Claudio Ranieri kissing the trophy, captured by photographer Carl Recine, declared the winner.
The Premier League is littered with truly iconic moments, and the thought of having to pick just one shot as the most best of the bunch… well it’s a task that fell to Richard Masters of the Premier League, Barclays head of brand Richard French, Kelly Simmons, of the Women’s Professional Game, and former players Kelly Smith and Ian Wright. The collective had to sift through thousands of entries, with the competition being open to all professional photographers who have covered the Premier League or the Barclays Women’s Super League since the 01/02 season. Each photographer was also able to submit up to three favourite shots.
Leicester City Manager Claudio Ranieri kisses the Barclays Premier League Trophy after delivering the fairy tale title to the club. 07/05/2016.
Photographer: Carl Recine
Entries closed last month, and it was then down to the judges to narrow the selection down to a top 30. From there, the eventual winner was selected, with the against-all-odds moment of Ranieri kissing the trophy after guiding Leicester City to the title in 2016 quite literally taking the crown, and the photographer, Carl Recine, scooping the top prize of £7,500.
Photographer Andrew Yates then nabbed the second and third prizes of £5,000 and £2,500, with his shots of Wayne Rooney’s impressive shinner against City and Alex Ferguson kissing the trophy (sensing a theme…) respectively.
Wayne Rooney scores an overhead kick against Manchester City at Old Trafford. 12/02/2011.
Photographer: Andrew Yates
Sir Alex Ferguson kisses the Premier League Trophy after winning the title. 12/05/2013.
Photographer: Andrew Yates
A 'Highly Commended' category then acknowledged Jon Super's photograph of fans celebrating outside Anfield after the club won their first league title after a 30 year wait, and Michael Regan's superb perspective on West Ham's last-ever game at Upton Park, earning both a cool £1,000 each.
Liverpool supporters celebrate outside Anfield Stadium as the team is presented with their first Premier League trophy (behind closed doors due to Covid). 22/07/2020.
Photographer: Jon Super
A young fan and his father watch from their window as West Ham United play their last ever game at Upton Park, London. 10/05/2016.
Photographer: Michael Regan
The competition as a whole acknowledged the fact that 'moments in football can pass quicker than the blink of an eye, but football photography can trap these happenings; and these magic moments from the beautiful game live on forever.' Truer words have never been spoken, and here's to many more magical moments.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is sent off by Mike Dean at Old Trafford. Wenger couldn’t find a seat in the already full Directors Box so stood on the roof of the tunnel much to the amazement of Gary Neville (bottom left), and the amusement of the Manchester United fans. 29/08/2009.
Photographer: Carl Recine
Martin Keown celebrates Arsenal’s 0-0 draw against Manchester United after Ruud Van Nistelrooy missed a last minute penalty. 21/09/2003.
Photographer: Mark Robinson
Jamaal Lascelles of Newcastle United takes the aerial route as he challenges Kenneth Zohore of Cardiff City for the ball. 18/08/2018.
Photographer: Dan Mullan
Jimmy Bullard of Hull celebrates scoring a penalty against Manchester City by mocking his manager Phil Brown’s half time team talk. 28/11/2009.
Photographer: Andrew Yates
The Swansea mascot shows his displeasure at not being included in the team huddle before an away match at Arsenal. 10/09/2011.
Photographer: Tom Jenkins
Steven Gerrard of Liverpool tries to retrieve the ball from Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. 27/04/2014.
Photographer: Simon Stacpoole
Swansea’s Bafétimbi Gomis celebrates by doing his ‘Panther Walk’ celebration after scoring his second goal against Manchester United. 30/08/2015.
Photographer: Stu Forster
Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio celebrates his sides first goal against Newcastle United. 14/04/2013.
Photographer: Richard Lee
Conor Gallagher of Crystal Palace collides with Phil Foden of Manchester City at the Ethiad Stadium. 30/10/2021.
Photographer: Naomi Baker
Cesc Fabregas is upended during a game between Arsenal and Sunderland. 20/09/2010.
Photographer: Mike Hewitt
Pep Guardiola celebrates winning the Premier League. 12/05/2019.
Photographer: Mike Hewitt
Tom Cairney of Fulham celebrates scoring the opening goal with teammates Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Ryan Sessegnon during Fulham versus Everton at Craven Cottage. 13/04/2019.
Photographer: Michael Zemanek
Darren Bent of Sunderland, scores via a deflection with a beachball thrown onto the pitch by a Liverpool fan. 17/10/2009.
Photographer: Mike Hewitt
Mohammed Salah of Liverpool celebrates scoring against Manchester United in front of the Kop at Anfield. 19/01/2020.
Photographer: Michael Regan
Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny (bottom) is mobbed by teammates as he celebrates scoring against Manchester City. 23/09/2012.
Photographer: Martin Rickett
Manchester United and Manchester City fans during the minutes silence for the victims of the Munich air disaster, at Old Trafford. 10/02/2008.
Photographer: Martin Rickett
Manchester United’s goalkeeper Fabien Barthez reacts after gifting a goal to Arsenal at Highbury. 25/11/2001.
Photographer: Mark Leech
During the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool and the Hillsborough tribute ahead of the game, the two mascots walked out into the middle of the pitch in club colours. 17/09/2012.
Photographer: Lee Smith
Mario Balotelli scores the first goal during the Manchester derby and celebrates by lifting his shirt to reveal a message directed at himself. 23/10/2011.
Photographer: Lee Smith
Arsene Wenger, manager of Arsenal is sent off at Old Trafford against Manchester United. 29/08/2009.
Photographer: Laurence Griffiths
Steven Gerrard celebrates scoring a penalty at Craven Cottage against Fulham, by removing his shirt in front of the travelling Liverpool fans. 12/02/2014.
Photographer: Kevin Quigley
Wayne Rooney suffering a head injury whilst playing for Everton against Bournemouth. 03/09/2017.
Photographer: Emma Simpson
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United celebrates with his family after winning the Barclay’s Premier League title. 16/05/2009.
Photographer: Ed Sykes
Steven Gerrard is surrounded by supporters at the end of the season ending game against Hull. 09/05/2012.
Photographer: Craig Brough
Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko gets too close to the Premier League trophy before the presentation and knocked it off its pedestal to the grass. 06/05/2018.
Photographer: Carl Recine
All iconic moments from the last 20 years. While we can't argue with the Ranieri shot, there really is only one winner for us...
All photography courtesy of FPA (Football Photographers Association) / LDY Agency.
