The 5 Best Foreign Players in Premier League History
Top 5 Most Successful Foreign Signings in Premier League History
There have been a lot of illustrious foreign signings in Premier League history, but in this article, Fasika Zelealem breaks down the top five most successful in league history.
This sort of piece is always going to be divisive, so if you have a difference of opinion, let the author know in the comments or take it up on social media!
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
This may come as a shock to many people considering the relatively short amount of time Mohamed Salah has played compared to the other players on this list I'll name shortly.
However, I think that speaks to the legacy the Liverpool forward has created for himself and a legacy that is building with every game he plays.
In just his fourth season as a Liverpool player, The Egyptian King has netted over 100 goals and was a huge part of Liverpool’s 2018/19 UEFA Champions League triumph and the historic 2019/20 Premier League title win.
Mohamed Salah's 35 goals & assists for Liverpool in 2020In this video we will take a look at all of Mohamed Salah's goals and assists in 2020.
He’s rewritten several records in the Liverpool and Premier League history books and is certainly a legend of both in just four years.
The interesting part in Salah's admission on this list is that he has the potential to rise, however, he will have to achieve great things *once again, if he is to leapfrog ahead of some of the names you'll soon see.
4. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Now a Real Madrid player, Eden Hazard is arguably Chelsea’s greatest ever player and is still very much loved by the Chelsea faithful despite his departure to Madrid in 2019.
Hazard arrived at Stamford Bridge as a fresh-faced 22-year-old who had the potential to be one of the world's best and by George did he fulfil expectations.
Hazard won six trophies, including two Premier League titles in eight years in Chelsea, and in my opinion, was the undisputed best player in the league in his last three years playing in England.
Hazard may not have the statistical prowess of those on the list but he may be the most feared to play against. Hazard is a player that could do anything he wanted with a football and provided moments of genius on a regular occasion at Chelsea.
While his move to Real Madrid has been marred by injury, Hazard remains one of the most electrifying players we’ll ever witness in the Premier League.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
It was tough putting Cristiano Ronaldo third on this list. For me, he’s the greatest ever player to play ‘in’ the Premier League but his admission on this list is solely based on what he did whilst playing in the Premier League rather than his overall career.
Ronaldo arrived in the Premier League at 18, younger than any player on this list, and immediately made his mark as a confident, bordering on arrogant, skillful young player.
We witnessed a natural evolution in Ronaldo’s game from a showboater to a goalscoring winger who was a nightmare for the opposing fullback.
His 2007/08 season where he netted 31 league goals and 42 in all competitions is arguably the greatest individual season in Premier League history (but that’s another article for another day).
Ronaldo won the Premier League three times and is just one of two players on this list to win the Champions League with a Premier League team.
2. Sergio Aguero
The highest-scoring foreign player in the Premier League ranks second in this list. Sergio Aguero is also the most tenured player on this list, having spent 10 years with Manchester City.
Aguero’s individual awards don’t do him justice. Whether it be injuries or players in his position having historic seasons, Aguero hasn’t enjoyed individual success as much as team success with Manchester City.
However, Football is a team game and I’m sure Aguero would take the four Premier League titles he’s won over one Player of the Year award.
Aguerooooooooooooooooo
Like Hazard and Ronaldo, we’ve seen Aguero grow up in front of us, having joined City at 22 years old and famously scoring the 94th-minute winner on the last day of the season of his debut season to clinch Manchester City's first Premier League title ever and the first league title for 44 years.
Aguero’s 256 goals in 379 games for Manchester City is an extraordinary feat and almost certainly secures him the label of City’s greatest ever player.
1. Thierry Henry
The story of Thierry Henry in the Premier League began in 1999 when he was brought to Arsenal by fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger.
Despite not scoring in his first 11 appearances, Henry netted 17 Premier League goals in his debut season and introduced himself to the Arsenal fans as the real deal.
Henry is the greatest player in Arsenal’s history and is one of the greatest strikers of all time.
His goal-scoring record, movement, footballing brain among his other attributes combined to make the perfect striker which Henry was.
If it wasn’t becoming the only forward in history to score 20 goals and assist 20 goals in a season, it was being named PFA Players’ Player of the Year, if it wasn’t being named in the PFA Team of the Year six consecutive years, it was leading his Arsenal team to an ‘Invincible’ season in the 2003/04 season.
The records just write themselves for Thierry Henry and that’s why he has my vote for most successful foreign signing in Premier League history.
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