The best Premier League player ever from each of the world’s top football playing nations
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Whilst there’s a break in football across the globe, we’ve taken the time to reflect on the Premier League era as a whole. Since its inception in 1992, the top flight of English football has welcomed in plenty of players from all across the planet, but we wanted to know who fans think is/was the best player from each of the top football-playing nations in the world. So, we took the current top 50 national teams in the world, as per FIFA’s rankings, and asked a select panel of fans, each of whom supports a different Premier League team, to select the best player from each of those nations. The player with the most votes won. Here’s a look at who the panel selected.
Algeria - Riyad Mahrez
Riyad Mahrez won the PFA Player of the Year Award when he helped Leicester achieve their Premier League win. He’s also won the title with Man City. No surprises that Mahrez was a unanimous decision.
Argentina - Sergio Aguero
Another unanimous decision. Sergio Aguero currently ranks fourth on the list of the Premier League’s all-time top scorers, just seven goals behind third-placed Andrew Cole.
Australia - Tim Cahill
It wasn’t a unanimous pick but former Everton star Tim Cahill was voted as the best Aussie to have played in the Premier League.
Austria - Marko Arnautovic
The panel selected former Stoke City and West Ham United forward Marko Arnautovic as the best Austrian to play in the Premier League.
Belgium - Kevin De Bruyne
There were a number of nominations for Belgium’s best Premier League player with both Vincent Kompany and Eden Hazard being selected by some members of the panel but Man City superstar Kevin De Bruyne got the majority of the votes.
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Edin Dzeko
There haven’t been a large number of players from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Premier League. Former title winner Edin Dzeko was a unanimous choice.
Brazil - Fernandinho
It’s a Man City dominated list so far! Despite a few votes for others, such as Gilberto Silva, it was Fernandinho who was picked by the majority of our supporters.
Chile - Alexis Sanchez
Things may not have gone as planned at Man United, but Alexis Sanchez was excellent for Arsenal, which is why he was another unanimous selection.
Colombia - Faustino Asprilla
Former Newcastle star Faustino Asprilla was selected as the best Colombian star to play in England since 1992 by all but two of our voters.
Costa Rica - Paulo Wanchope
Another unanimous selection saw Paulo Wanchope voted as the best Costa Rican Premier League player.
Croatia - Luka Modric
We’ve seen plenty of top players from Croatia in the Premier League but our panel voted Luka Modric as the best of them all, unanimously.
Czech Republic - Petr Cech
A quick check of the votes unanimously revealed that Petr Cech was the best Czech of the Premier League era!
Denmark - Peter Schmeichel
Yet another player picked by every member of our panel. Peter Schmeichel is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper to ever play in the Premier League so it’s no surprise to see him picked as the best Danish player we’ve seen in the league.
England - Frank Lampard
You can probably imagine that this was a selection that saw quite a few different selections but Frank Lampard’s unbelievable goalscoring record saw him win by a single vote.
France - Thierry Henry
Despite the fact that there have been plenty of excellent French players in the Premier League, Thierry Henry was another unanimous selection, which goes some way to showing just how good he was.
Germany - Mesut Ozil
Given that he’s fallen out of favour recently, it was somewhat of a shock to see Mesut Ozil edge out both Michael Ballack and Leroy Sane.
Ghana - Michael Essien
No shocks here. Former Chelsea star Michael Essien was another unanimous selection as Ghana’s best Premier League player.
Iceland - Eidur Gudjohnsen
There was a couple of votes for other Icelandic stars but former Chelsea forward Eidur Gudjohnsen got selected by the majority of the panel.
Iran - Ashkan Dejagah
There have only been a couple of Iranian Premier League players and in truth, those who have played haven’t made much of an impact. Ashkan Dejagah who scored five Premier League goals for Fulham was selected as the best.
Italy - Gianfranco Zola
We’ve seen plenty of Italians succeed in the Premier League but every member of our panel agreed that former Chelsea star Gianfranco Zola was the best of them all.
Jamaica - Wes Morgan
Premier League-winning captain Wes Morgan was selected as the best Jamaican to play in the top flight since 1992,
Japan - Okazaki
A second-successive Leicester Premier League winner! Shinji Okazaki won the vote as the best Japanese Premier League player by a single vote over Shinji Kagawa.
Korea Republic - Son Heung-min
There have been a few Korean players who’ve done well in the Premier League. Current Spurs star Son Heung-min beat Park Ji-sung by two votes to be crowned as the best of them all.
Mexico - Javier Hernandez
A few of the panel selected Wolves star Raul Jimenez as the league’s best Mexican import, but it was former Man United and West Ham striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez was got the majority of the votes.
Morocco - Adel Taarabt
Again, not a wide panel to chose from but former Tottenham, Fulham QPR star Adel Taarabt was voted as the league’s best Moroccan star.
Netherlands - Dennis Bergkamp
Another very, very close vote, unsurprising given how many Dutch stars have shone in the Premier League. Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp won by just one vote over Virgil Van Dijk.
Nigeria - Jay-Jay Okocha
There have been some very good Nigerian players in the Premier League over the years but every member of our panel, bar one, thought that Jay-Jay Okocha was the best of them all. Yakubu got the other vote.
Northern Ireland - Jonny Evans
A three-time Premier League winner, it was no surprise to see Jonny Evans, who is still performing at a very high level, voted unanimously at the best Northern Irishman to play in the league.
Norway - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Another player-turned-manager to make the list. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was selected as the best Norwegian Premier League star by every voter.
Paraguay - Roque Santa Cruz
Only eight players from Paraguay have graced the Premier Leauge. Of those eight, Roque Santa Cruz was unanimously picked as the best of them.
Peru - Nolberto Solano
The list of Peruvians was even shorter, just five names! Of those, Nolberto Solano was picked by every member of the panel as the best.
Poland - Lukasz Fabianski
It was mainly a battle of the goalkeepers to decide Poland’s best Premier League player and in the end, Lukasz Fabianski won by a single vote.
Portugal - Cristiano Ronaldo
No surprises here! One of the best players to ever kick a ball, Cristiano Ronaldo was an easy pick for every voter.
Republic of Ireland - Roy Keane
There have been so many excellent Irish players in the Premier League down the years, but Roy Keane was selected as the best of them all by every one of our fans.
Romania - Dan Petrescu
Dan Petrescu, who represented Bradford, Chelsea Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton, was picked as the best Romanian to play in England since the Premier League was created.
Russia - Andrei Kanchelskis
It was somewhat of a shock to find that only eight Russians have played in the Premier League. Of those, former Everton and Man United star Andrei Kanchelskis was narrowly selected ahead of Andrey Arshavin as the best.
Scotland - Andy Robertson
There have been plenty of legendary Scottish players in the Premier League, but it was a current player, Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, who was picked as the best of them, winning by just one vote.
Senegal - Sadio Mane
Another current Liverpool star, albeit this selection was not a huge surprise. There have been plenty of brilliant Senegalese stars in English football but Sadio Mane has stood out above them all, hence why he was picked by every one of our voters.
Serbia - Nemanja Vidic
Another unanimous pick. Nemanja Vidic was voted as the best Serbian to play in the Premier League and it’s easy to see why. He’s one of the best defenders to play in the competition.
Slovakia - Martin Skrtel
There haven’t been too many Slovakians in English football. Of those who’ve played in the Premier League, former Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel was voted as the best of them.
Spain - David Silva
There have been so many great Spanish players in the Premier League that being picked as the best of them should be a big honour. In terms of our voters, that honour goes to Man City legend David Silva.
Sweden - Freddie Ljungberg
We’ve seen plenty of super Swedes in the Premier League, but former Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg was voted by the majority of our panel as the best of the bunch.
Switzerland - Xherdan Shaqiri
There have been some very good Swiss stars too, hence why this vote was split between a few players. In the end, Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri was selected as the best of them all.
Tunisia - Radhi Jaidi
Only a handful of Tunisians have graced the Premier League. Of those, former Bolton and Birmingham star Radhi Jaidi was selected as the best.
Turkey - Tugay
We’ve seen a few Turkish stars do well in England but former Blackburn midfielder Tugay was voted as the best.
Ukraine - Oleksandr Zinchenko
Of the seven Ukrainians who’ve played in the Premier League, Oleksandr Zinchenko was voted as the best.
Uruguay - Luis Suarez
Another unanimous selection. We’ve seen a fair few good Uruguayans do well in the Premier League, but Luis Suarez was on a different level to them all.
USA - Brad Friedel
Former Fulham star Clint Dempsey got more than a few votes but in the end, it was goalkeeper Brad Friedel was was picked at the best American to play in the Premier League.
Venezuela - Salomon Rondon
Only two players from Venezuela have ever played in the Premier League and with all due respect to Fernando Amorebieta, Salomon Rondon was always going to win this vote!
Wales - Ryan Giggs
Despite the ridiculous levels of success that Ryan Giggs achieved in his career, this was a very close vote, with Giggs edging out Gareth Bale by just a single selection.