The midfielder quietly became an alternative Premier League icon with his collection of sublime goals for Blackburn Rovers in the noughties

'The Barclays'. While the Premier League was technically sponsored by the aforementioned bank between 2001-16, the period which is so wistfully looked back upon by fans of a certain vintage is the first decade of the 2000s.

After its initial emergence in 1992, the English top flight enjoyed a secondary boom in popularity following the turn of the millennium, as overseas television deals and a secondary influx of foreign stars gave the league a truly global appeal. It played host to a number of the game's modern icons, too, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba among those who lit up the Premier League on a weekly basis.

When fans talk about 'The Barclays', though, it is not those household names they are referring to. Instead it is the players who were largely in the background when it came to being headline-grabbing, but were seen as key cogs in the Premier League machine by die-hard fans, while still able to produce moments of magic on occasion.

These players have come to be known as the 'Barclaysmen', but what made them so beloved, and what became of them once their Barclays life was over? Here at GOAL, we will endeavour to find out with our latest series, 'Ultimate Barclaysmen'.

When you think of ultimate 'Barclaysman', one name in particular springs to mind: Blackburn Rovers legend Morten Gamst Pedersen. Quite simply, he ticks all the boxes: a back catalogue of outrageous goals, a cannon of a left foot, a mop of highlighted blonde hair, adidas Predators and a storied career with one of the Premier League's unfancied sides. A man with one of the best highlight reels around, Pedersen is an alternative icon.

GettyWhere he came from

The true mark of a 'Barclaysman' is someone who emerged out of nowhere, captured the imagination in the Premier League and then faded into obscurity as soon as they left British shores, and that was certainly the case for Pedersen.

Hailing from the small Norwegian town of Vadso, which has a population of just 6,000 and is located within the Arctic Circle, Pedersen's breakthrough came at Tromso in his homeland, where he would spend the first four years of his senior career. Something of a late bloomer, he was already 22 when Blackburn came calling in 2004.

The £2.5 million transfer was prompted by Pedersen's fine form for the Eliteserien side, where he had scored seven times in the first half of the March-to-November season alone. He made the switch to the Premier League in August, with Blackburn and then-manager Graeme Souness still looking to replace Damien Duff, who had joined Chelsea a year earlier.

Pedersen joined Rovers among a host of other notable Blackburn 'Barclaysmen' that summer, including the likes of Ryan Nelson, Robbie Savage and Aaron Mokoena.

AdvertisementBarclays highlights

Pedersen's start to life in the Premier League was far from memorable as he struggled for minutes after Souness was replaced by Mark Hughes in September 2004, but that would all change in early 2005 as he forced his way into the team with three goals in as many games and effectively made himself un-droppable.

With his smiley demeanour, blonde highlights, classy technique and traction engine of a left foot, Pedersen would go on to become a cult hero at Blackburn and one of the finest midfield players outside of the established top six at the time. Dubbed the 'Norwegian David Beckham', outrageous goals became his trademark, and in nine years at Ewood Park he put together quite the repertoire.

The standouts among his substantial back catalogue include a thunderous volley on the run against Fulham in August 2005 and a match-winning brace against Manchester United at Old Trafford the following month, coming in the form of a direct free-kick and an emphatic finish into the roof of Edwin van der Sar's goal. That performance is widely considered to be his best in the Rovers shirt.

He wasn't just all about spectacular goals, though – he 'had that dog in him', too. The winger developed a reputation for playacting and was capable of rubbing opponents up the wrong way, once clashing with now-Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta against Everton and even taking a punch in the gut from ex-Newcastle man Joey Barton.

Despite playing for an often-middling Blackburn team for the best part of a decade, Pedersen made a creditable 75 goal contributions in 259 Premier League appearances for the Lancashire side, with 2006-07 his most productive season as he scored 11 times and laid on eight more.

Getty'Morten is up there with Beckham'

The main reason Pedersen is remembered so fondly by noughties football aficionados is undoubtedly his ball-striking ability, with the midfielder capable of unleashing rockets off both feet. He didn't actually start developing his famous left until the age of 15, when his father noted that there were too many right-footed players coming through in Norway.

His reputation as one of the cleanest strikers of a ball in Premier League history is no fluke, then – coming as result of countless hours of practice on the training pitch. "We have just highlighted certain things to Morten and he has worked on it," ex-manager Hughes said in 2007. "He works extremely hard after training every day, hitting numerous balls into the net, with or without 'keepers in goal. David Beckham was one of the best set-piece experts in my time at Manchester United and Ryan Giggs before him, but I would say Morten is up there with David."

Pedersen was something of a trailblazer – a fleet-footed technician in an era when the Premier League was all about power and physicality, before the days of David Silva and Eden Hazard, loyally plying his trade for a club the size of Blackburn for the peak years of his career. "I like to try different things," he told UEFA back in 2005. "In some parts of the game it's not the thing to do, but when you have time you can maybe try something. I like to play with the ball and give something back to the crowd. It's fun to try things but you have to be at the right place at the right time."

He also endeared himself to Barclays followers with his cheery manner, seemingly joying every single second out on the pitch. "I always have a smile on my face, off the pitch as well," he said. "That's a part of me, a smile and a good mood."

GettyMoving on

After nine years of loyal service, Pedersen's Blackburn career arguably came to its natural conclusion back in 2013, but he didn't actually want to leave the club.

Rovers had been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2011-12 campaign and the 31-year-old had admirably gone down with Rovers amid top-flight interest. However, despite providing seven assists in the Championship the following season without being a regular starter, he was told he could move on in August 2013.

It was reported at the time that his preference was to stay, but he wanted regular game time and that was not forthcoming at Ewood Park. Financial constraints following their relegation also meant Blackburn needed to trim their wage bill, putting relatively high-earner Pedersen in the firing line.

"There is no big issue. Morten is a top, top professional who wants to play football," ex-Blackburn chief executive Derek Shaw said at the time. "He has found himself out of the team and we will do anything we can to assist a move. You don't meet people as professional as Morten too often and he is a man who wants to play football."