End of the 90's era

Gerrard , Lampard leaving Premeir League

London

With Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard leaving the Premier League, a rare breed of footballer is slowly fading away. 

We are not talking about the typically British, old fashioned goalscoring midfielders, but outfield players to have operated in England's top flight in the 1990s who are still going strong today. 

Several retirements in recent years means you can barely make an XI out of stars who started out before the turn of the century. 

And there are only three out of that bunch who seem certain to be in the top flight next season. John Terry is still going strong as Chelsea captain, Gareth Barry has two years remaining on his contract at Everton, while Michael Carrick is still a mainstay in the Manchester United side.

Terry made his 'Premiership' debut in December 1998; a late substitute for Gus Poyet in a 2-0 win against Southampton. And 458 games later, the 34-year-old has claimed four league titles, as well as several other major trophies.

Barry is the same age as Terry but started his career even earlier, making two appearances for Aston Villa at the end of the 1997-98 campaign. He became a club legend in the Midlands before impressing at Manchester City and now under Roberto Martinez at Goodison Park.

Meanwhile Carrick, 33, also appears to have plenty left in the tank. Louis van Gaal's side have missed the England international when he has been injured this season, with the midfielder penning a new one-year deal in March. Not many would have expected such success when the young Geordie made his West Ham debut against Bradford in 1999.

Joe Cole has another year on his Aston Villa deal but has yet to start under new boss Tim Sherwood. Cole was tipped to be one of the best players in England when he made the breakthrough at West Ham and while only showing glimpses of that brilliance during his career, he picked up plenty of trophies with Chelsea.

Sunderland and Leicester City both stayed in the Premier League this season, but some of their more experienced stars' futures remain unclear. Wes Brown started at Manchester United in 1998 but his contract expires this summer and he may have played his last game for the Black Cats.

Matthew Upson and Paul Konchesky were regulars at the King Power Stadium at the start of the summer but slowly drifted out of the picture as Nigel Pearson's side picked up form to stay up. Both however started their careers in the 90s - Upson with Arsenal and Konchesky with Charlton Athletic.

Richard Dunne and Rio Ferdinand's QPR weren't so lucky in surviving the drop and it remains to be seen whether either will represent the Hoops in the Championship. Both were talented young centre backs; Dunne at Everton and Ferdinand with West Ham, before the latter moved on to greater things with Leeds and Manchester United.

This list of players doesn't take goalkeepers into account, though Shay Given, Steve Harper, Mark Schwarzer, who have all been mainstays in the division over the last decade.

But their inspiration doesn't come close to that of Lampard and Gerrard's. Both will be off to the MLS this summer, to New York City and LA Galaxy respectively, and made their first steps in the English top flight more than 15 years ago.

West Ham, Chelsea and even Manchester City fans will be thankful for Lampard's contribution, while Gerrard will forever be a Liverpool legend.

Unfortunately, we won't see too many more like them.