Premier League stars who are known by their first names on their shirts

Many of football's popular traditions reach back decades, long before Sky rocked up with a big pile of money and the promise of a 'whole new ball game.'

But one aspect that has developed under Sky's watch and become a major factor in the viewing experience around the world has been the addition of names on the back of the player's shirt.

It was in 1993, for the Premier League's second season, when names first appeared on jerseys, which in effect gave birth to the notion of a squad number and numbers spiralling north of No 14.

In the 1990s, the idea of a player having anything but their last name on the back of their shirt seemed ludicrous, yet the idea has developed to include first names and even nicknames  (Kun Aguero, Chicharito etc) as England's top flight has relaxed its standing.

'Play for the badge on the front and they will remember the name on the back' is the old saying, but here are some players who decided to make themselves stand out for their name alone.

Jordi (Cruyff)

As a footballer trying to make your name in the game there can be few things more daunting than having to match up to your father's standing - especially when that paternal figure is the great Johan Cruyff.

Naturally, Jordi just wanted to step out of his father's shadow, so while playing for Holland he would just feature his first name on his match shirt.

That all changed when he joined Manchester United in 1996, where Premier League rules forced him to have the name 'Cruyff'. But by the time he left in 2000 the name Jordi was seen on his United shirt.

Jimmy (Floyd Hasselbaink)

One of the first players in the Premier League to wear his first name on the rear of his shirt, which is perhaps a little surprising as you won't find many photos of the former Leeds United and Chelsea striker without the words 'Hasselbaink' above his shirt number.

The reason is because he only had 'Jimmy' once. It came on his Leeds debut in 1997 when he scored against Arsenal  before the Premier League stepped in and wagged an index finger at the Elland Road outfit. 'Jimmy' was never seen again.

Stelios (Giannakopoulos)

It's fair to say everyone was a winner by the time the Premier League started relaxing their name laws around the mid 2000s.

Just as well because 'Stelios' was a much easier name to roll off the tongue during his five years at Bolton Wanderers from 2003 compared to his mouthful of a last name.

The only loser perhaps was the Trotters' club shop given the policy of charging for each letter printed on a replica shirt.

Interestingly, 'Giannakopoulos' was always used when the midfielder played for the Greek national team.

Jonas (Gutierrez)

A Newcastle fan favourite throughout his seven years at St James' Park, where he always featured his forename on the back of his shirt.

When you are called Gutierrez and hail from Argentina, you perhaps would like some way of branching your football shirt identity from such a common name.

Explaining his decision to use Jonas, however, he simply said: 'Because I like my name.'

Can't argue with that.

Bryan (Ruiz)

The early part of the 2010s saw an explosion of players reverting to using their first names, and Bryan Ruiz was among those when he joined Fulham in 2011.

With his father having left his family home when he was a child, the Costa Rica international admitted that the name Ruiz 'didn't mean a lot', hence his request to use Bryan which he 'liked a lot more'.

Gaston (Ramirez)

Uruguay forward Gaston Ramirez was quite happy to go with the name 'Ramirez' above his squad number before reaching England, when he played for Penarol and Bologna.

But upon joining Southampton he perhaps saw the opportunity to opt for the Jonas Gutierrez approach. 'Gaston' it was and has been ever since.

Wilfried (Bony)

Despite running around with the name 'Wilfried' on the back of his shirt throughout his career, fans will still remember the striker as Bony.

Well Swansea supporters will at least. Manchester City fans may not remember him at all, while a few neutrals will still be seething at his decision as a striker to pick the No 2 shirt upon his return to the Liberty Stadium.

Ravel (Morrison)

The name change that really did open the floodgates for everyone else in the Premier League.

Morrison made his debut for Manchester United with his last name on his shirt, but after joining West Ham he curiously switched to using 'Ravel' ahead of the 2013-14 season, following a loan spell at Birmingham City.

The reason? He wanted a new name to mark a fresh start to his football career. Would not have happened in 'Jimmy's' day back in 1997.

Alexis (Sanchez)

For much of his early career in South America as well as at Udinese, Sanchez played with his last name on his shirt. It was of such little concern that he even represented Chile with that name on his back at the 2010 World Cup.

But that all changed at Barcelona, where he was known as Alexis and since then he has played with his forename at the Spanish giants as well as at Arsenal and Manchester United. He has even reverted to using it when representing Chile.

There are other examples of players known for their first names just through personal preference such as Southampton's Cedric Soares and former Stoke City forward Jese Rodriguez.

Memphis (Depay)

It was quite common to refer to Memphis Depay by his last name during his short and unsuccessful spell at Old Trafford, where inconsistency plagued his two years at the club before his 2017 departure.

Yet the Dutch winger has always been consistent with his use of Memphis on the reverse of his shirt, claiming he will not use Depay due to his father walking out on him when he was just four years old.

Clinton (N'Jie)

With just eight Premier League appearances and none of them starts even Tottenham fans can be forgiven for not quite remembering this Cameroon winger.

So as much as he would like to be known as Clinton, Spurs supporters didn't really get to know him at all having never convinced Mauricio Pochettino he was much use to the squad during the 2015-16 season.

Dele (Alli)

Rather more familiar with Spurs supporters is Dele Alli, although in the same season that N'Jie was warming the subs' bench, the midfielder actually used his surname on the back of his shirt.

It was not until the 2016-17 campaign when he reverted to 'Dele' citing he had 'no connection' to the Alli name. His family background is complex, with his father living in Nigeria for years after splitting from Dele's mother when their son was very young. From the age of 13 he lived in a house run by his adoptive parents, although Dele was never formally adopted.

Sokratis (Papastathopoulos)

Sokratis has largely impressed since joining Arsenal in the summer, and he is already popular with the kit managers at the Emirates Stadium with the choice of name on the back of his shirt.

The Greek defender has played the 'Stelios' card and ensured the person responsible for printing the names of the players on the Arsenal shirts can now sleep at night without worrying about spelling or even how to fit that many letters on the back of a shirt.