Newcastle is a city full of history and famous faces, including within its biggest football club, Newcastle United, but who is the most famous player to turn out for the club? To this day, the Magpies are considered one of the biggest clubs in England. They may not be competing for titles or other pieces of silverware – yet – but their history is so extensive that a player’s fame and popularity can significantly increase as soon as they don the famous black and white.

In the early days of the Premier League, particularly, Newcastle were responsible for some of the most entertaining moments. Who could forget Kevin Keegan’s famous ‘I’d love it if we beat them’ rant?

With that said, we at Football FanCast have decided to rank the 10 most famous players in Newcastle United history.

10 Papiss Cisse

Not many around Newcastle will ever forget Papiss Cisse’s spell playing for the club. The striker was as underrated as they come, and performed better than anyone ever expected, scored goals no one could have predicted, and departed having left some mark at St James’ Park when taking to the pitch.

In total, he scored 44 times in 131 appearances, a genuinely solid record.

It could be argued that his first six months were his best in a black and white shirt, with his technique leading to some genuinely unbelievable goals.

Remember that strike against Chelsea? Who could forget.

9 David Ginola

Playing for Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and Everton whilst in England, it’s fair to say that David Ginola became a household name in the Premier League.

Since his retirement, people have continued their admiration for the Frenchman, too, which was evident in his appearance on ITV show ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

During his time with the Magpies, he made 76 appearances and had a total of 23 goal involvements before eventually moving on to play for Spurs.

He may not have a heaving trophy cabinet, but he remains one of the most elegant players ever seen in the north east.

8 Les Ferdinand

With 149 Premier League goals to his name, Les Ferdinand has his place in history as the 11th highest goalscorer in the league’s history.

And, with that, remains one of Newcastle United’s most famous players, and one of the best strikers to ever feature for The Magpies.

While he didn't actually win anything at St James' Park, few players did around the 1990s, with the entertainers struggling to get over the line.

Still, that does nothing to take away from the fact that Ferdinand is one of the best goalscorers in Premier League history.

7 Jermaine Jenas

Jermaine Jenas is a great example of a player that became more famous after retirement.

The midfielder enjoyed his playing days, featuring for Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers, and Aston Villa. But, since hanging up his boots, Jenas has been a regular pundit on shows such as Match of the Day, and on Sky Sports.

As a result, it's perhaps forgotten just how good Jenas was during his playing days.

Breaking through at Newcastle, he was an immense box-to-box option, making over 100 appearances before making the switch to Spurs.

6 Andy Cole

Like Ferdinand, Andy Cole is one of the greatest goalscorers that the Premier League has ever seen. In fact, only three players have scored more league goals than Cole, and that’s Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and a man that we’ll soon get to.

Of course, Cole’s greatest success came at Manchester United, but he remains part of Newcastle history. Indeed, during his time with the club, Cole scored 68 goals in 84 games, and also laid on 23 assists. That's 91 goal involvements in 84 games.

Those kind of numbers are now only put up by players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

5 Kevin Keegan

Of course, Kevin Keegan’s most famous moment for many is that rant we mentioned earlier, but, as a player, he had an endless amount of big moments, too, featuring for Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton, and even having a stint in Germany with Hamburger.

During his time on the pitch, Keegan won an incredibly impressive two Ballon d’Ors.

He was with Newcastle for just two years, playing for the club between 1982 and 1984, but he scored 48 goals in 78 games as he approached the twilight of his career.

He's now perhaps best known as a manager, but what a player he was.

4 Michael Owen

Although Michael Owen didn’t enjoy the best of times at Newcastle as he looked to revive his career, no one can deny his fame. This was a player fresh off becoming a Galactico; a former Ballon D’or winner. Even post-retirement, Owen has kept his relevancy as a pundit, mainly appearing on BT Sport.

He's better known for his breakthrough with Liverpool and his later spells with Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Still, Owen is one of the best Premier League goalscorers in history.

He scored 150 goals in the top-flight and is currently the 10th highest goalscorer in the league's history, even if few of those goals actually came at St James' Park; his body had started to give up on him by the time he became a Magpie.

3 Peter Beardsley

One of the greatest players to ever play for Newcastle, Peter Beardsley has his place on this list.

During his playing career, Beardsley managed 118 goals for Newcastle, whilst also playing for Liverpool, Everton, Fulham, and Bolton Wanderers in what was an incredible successful career. While he didn't win a trophy at Newcastle, he was twice voted their Player of the Year in the 1980s and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

A winger who was never afraid to get chalk on his boots, Beardsley was a truly sensational footballer.

2 Paul Gascoigne

Whether it’s good or bad headlines, Paul Gascoigne is one of the most famous footballers to ever play in England. And, subsequently, one of the most talented. He could have been the very best, but his struggles outside of football soon began to show in what is one of the most heartbreaking downfalls that English football has ever seen. At his best, ‘Gazza’ was simply unstoppable. Newcastle had him before the darkness had begun to creep in, too, coming through their academy and making his breakthrough with his debut in 1985.

He would move to Spurs in 1988, at a time when Manchester United also wanted him; how would his life have turned out had he moved to Old Trafford?

We'll never know, but we do know that he was a sensational footballer.

1 Alan Shearer

It wouldn’t be a list about famous Newcastle without Alan Shearer, would it? The league’s all-time top goalscorer, and the messiah of the city, himself, is the best to ever play for the Magpies, and is undoubtedly the most famous. When you think of Newcastle United, you think of Shearer, it’s that simple. He may have won the Premier League title with a different club, lifting the trophy with Blackburn Rovers, but he's still synonymous with the black and white stripes.

It remains to be seen if he can hold on to his record, though, with Harry Kane now creeping up on him, having passed the 200 barrier against Manchester City.

So, there you have it, our list of Newcastle United’s most famous players in their illustrious history. Those at St James’ Park have had the pleasure of watching some true icons, and will now be hoping to see new legends emerge after the big-money takeover. In what could be the ultimate era of success for the Magpies, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will be desperate to see a number of his players replicate the legacies left behind by the players listed above. If they can do that, then they’ll go down as all-time greats.