Spanish gamers have made up a few of the finest in historical past.
They’ve not been fairly as dominant as French imports however, particularly this century, the Spaniards have actually left an unbelievable mark on England’s prime flight. In current seasons alone, Rodri has run the midfield for an all-conquering facet — successful the Ballon d’Or alongside the best way — and David Raya gained the 2023/24 Golden Glove, whereas the likes of Pau Torres, Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella have slowly improved to turn into a few of the prime performers of their positions.
However who has been one of the best? And who does miss out on our prime 10?
10. Pepe Reina
Liverpool, 2005-2013 and Aston Villa 2020
League Video games: 297Honours: 2005 UEFA Tremendous Cup, 2005/06 FA Cup, 2006 Neighborhood Defend, 2011/12 League Cup
Pepe Reina joined once they had been European Champions due to the goalkeeping heroics of Jerzy Dudek… after which made the workforce higher. Reina gained the Golden Glove award in his first season and went on to maintain an unbelievable 134 clear sheets for Liverpool, with a ratio of 0.47 per sport, increased than another goalie with 100 or extra clear sheets.
The Spaniard made a Premier League comeback in January 2020, with on mortgage, and managed to maintain simply two clear sheets in 12 appearances earlier than returning to AC Milan.
9. Diego Costa
Chelsea, 2014-2018 and Wolves, 2022/23
League Video games: 89Honours: Premier League (2), 2014/15 League Cup
Suffice it to say Diego Costa was a controversial determine when taking part in for . He wound up opponents and generally even his personal teammates.
He fell out with two completely different managers and got here near leaving a number of occasions. However when he was targeted? He was lethal, a bully of a striker who defenders hated going through and an enormous a part of Chelsea’s final two title wins, scoring 20 targets in every marketing campaign.
Costa made a quick return to the Premier League with in 2022 however scored only one aim in 25 video games throughout all competitions.
8. Juan Mata
Chelsea and Manchester United, 2011-2022
League Video games: 277Honours: FA Cup (2), 2011/12 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League (2), 2016 Neighborhood Defend, 2016/17 EFL Cup
Juan Mata received a brand new two-year deal at in 2019 mainly as a result of he’s a very nice man. No, significantly. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke extremely of his capability to mentor younger gamers fairly than play good soccer himself when his contract was renewed.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t all the time like that. Earlier than David Moyes and Louis van Gaal received their fingers on him, Juan Mata was one of the vital vibrant and thrilling gamers within the division. He lit it up for Chelsea (particularly in 2012/13), much less for United, however he almost all the time carried out when known as upon. The unhappy factor is that he wasn’t actually known as upon anymore and left United pretty quietly in the summertime of 2022, occurring to hitch Galatasaray.
7. Xabi Alonso
Liverpool, 2004-2009
League Video games: 143Honours: 2004/05 UEFA Champions League, 2005 UEFA Tremendous Cup, 2005/06 FA Cup, 2006 Neighborhood Defend
It’s been some time however hopefully, folks nonetheless keep in mind Xabi Alonso, the impossibly elegant deep-lying playmaker who introduced a way of the unattainable to the Premier League.
His first season ended with lifting the Champions League and whereas they by no means reached that top once more throughout his time there, the soccer they performed with Alonso pulling the strings was breathtakingly brutal in its defensive resilience and attacking thrust.
Alonso was a grasp craftsman with an array of spectacular long-range passes and pictures that might fill a YouTube spotlight reel to bursting. A present and a treasure to observe.
6. Fernando Torres
Liverpool and Chelsea, 2007-2014
League Video games: 212Honours: 2011/12 UEFA Champions League, 2012/13 UEFA Europa League
Fernando Torres gained extra as a foul participant with Chelsea than he did as an amazing one with Liverpool, however that, and the horrible type he displayed on the best way out of the Premier League, mustn’t masks the best way he got here into the division swinging with the fury of a younger Mike Tyson.
Torres was an virtually supernatural mix of tempo, energy and precision ending that, when he was match, recalled the likes of Gabriel Batistuta. He by no means hit 30 targets in a single league season however once you assume again, all you keep in mind is him brutalising every thing in sight (particularly Manchester United) and main the road for a very phenomenal Liverpool facet.
5. David de Gea
Manchester United, 2011-2023
League Video games: 415 (and counting)Honours: Neighborhood Defend (3), 2012/13 Premier League, 2015/16 FA Cup, EFL Cup (2), 2016/17 UEFA Europa League
For a child who got here into the league skinny as a pencil and received so simply buffeted about that even ex-Man Utd legends had been calling him a waster on dwell TV (and he received dropped for Anders Lindegaard), it appears David de Gea is aware of tips on how to bounce again.
The Spaniard tailored, gained the league in his second season and for the 5 years after that was the one factor maintaining Manchester United afloat as a related footballing establishment (nicely, he had just a little assist from Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the finish), successful their Participant of the Yr 4 occasions in 5 seasons between 2013 and 2018. De Gea lastly left the membership on the finish of his contract in 2023 and after a season out of motion, is now plying his commerce in Italy with with Fiorentina.
4. César Azpilicueta
Chelsea, 2012-2023
League Video games: 349Honours: UEFA Europa League (2), Premier League (2), 2014/15 League Cup, 2017/18 FA Cup, 2020/21 Champions League, 2021 UEFA Tremendous Cup, 2021 Membership World Cup
It’s simple to overlook however César Azpilicueta was as soon as a flying wing-back in La Liga at Osasuna. Accidents at Marseille clipped his wings, after which José Mourinho had the plan of turning him right into a defensive left-back.
It shouldn’t have labored, however in actual fact, reworked Azpilicueta into an absolute beast of a defender. A lot in order that he was capable of take his skills again to right-back, then proper centre-back, and at last again to proper wing-back. Azpilicueta is a grasp of the artwork of defending (and the clipped diagonal cross), problem him at your peril. Though limitations have sneaked into his sport with age, Azpilicueta is a legend at Chelsea, taking on as captain in 2019 and main the membership to their second Champions League crown in 2021. Including the Tremendous Cup and Membership World Cup, he has gained all of it.
“He embodies what Chelsea stands for, he’s humble,” former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel advised reporters.
“He’s a legend on the membership and he can lead as instance. He can carry on doing what he has completed for therefore a few years. It is vitally excellent news for us.”
Azpilicueta departed Chelsea in the summertime of 2023 and remains to be going sturdy in Spain with Atletico Madrid, who’re within the thick of one other La Liga title problem.
3. Rodri
Manchester Metropolis, 2019-present
League video games: 174 (and counting)Honours: Premier League (4), 2022/23 FA Cup, EFL Cup (2), 2022/23 Champions League, 2023 Uefa Tremendous Cup, 2023 Membership World Cup
As talked about earlier, Rodri has been on the coronary heart of a Manchester Metropolis facet that gained an unprecedented 4 straight Premier League titles and joined Man Utd as solely the second English workforce to win the treble in 2022/23.
From ice-cold composure below strain to a tactical foul at simply the appropriate time, Rodri can do all of it. The truth is, the largest praise that may in all probability be paid to him is simply how a lot Metropolis have struggled with out him resulting from harm this season, sitting sixth on the time of writing.
Properly, that and the small matter of the Ballon d’Or award he scooped lately after additionally main Spain to Euro 2024 glory.
2. Cesc Fabregas
Arsenal, 2003-2011 and Chelsea, 2014-2019
League Video games: 350Honours: Premier League (2), 2014/15 League Cup, 2017/18 FA Cup, 2018/19 UEFA Europa League
The one Spaniard to dominate the Premier League, depart, then come again to dominate it much more. Cesc Fabregas is an absolute phenomenon with two very distinct phases in his profession. For , he emerged as a teen sensation and performed a scintillatingly direct variant of Spanish passing soccer. He thrilled us all at the same time as he gained nothing. Then he moved to Barcelona, a transfer which taught him his limits and tips on how to win trophies (if nothing else).
Fabregas then introduced that successful mentality again to the Premier League with Chelsea and immediately, with better readability and maturity than he confirmed within the purple of Arsenal, helped information them to 2 league titles in his first three seasons. He has had an exceptional profession as a Premier League participant and it was a disgrace that he left quietly mid-season in 2019 with little commotion fairly than on the finish of a marketing campaign to (deserved) hysterical fanfare and far fawning within the media. He was unbelievable.
Honourable mentions: Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta, Pedro, Luis Garcia, Jose Antonio Reyes, Michu
1. David Silva
Manchester Metropolis, 2010-2020
League Video games: 309Honours: FA Cup (2), Premier League (4), Neighborhood Defend (2), League Cup (5)
There are only a few gamers who can have been mentioned to mark an period within the Premier League, however David Silva is definitely one. From his arrival alongside Yaya Touré in the summertime of 2010, Silva was constantly probably the greatest midfielders within the division. A pleasant mix of ability, stability, precision passes, well timed targets and the odd nasty sort out that permit folks know he wasn’t for bullying.
Silva was all the time vital, particularly as Manchester Metropolis gained their first two league titles — however the arrival of Pep Guardiola turned him into an absolute colossus. The Spaniard was positioned on the coronary heart of Guardiola’s midfield and given license to regulate the sport from deeper positions in a approach he by no means had earlier than. He took to this position fantastically and fought via tough private circumstances to proceed taking part in at an absurdly excessive degree. His reward was to be the primary Spaniard ever to retain the Premier League title.
In the summertime of 2019, he introduced the 2019/20 marketing campaign could be his closing one in England, leaving after 10 years and, whereas he was unable to go away with a fifth Premier League medal, “El Mago” is comfortably one of the best Spaniard within the competitors’s historical past.
