The Premier League has seen some of the finest players from across the globe since its inception in 1992. From Africa to Asia, each corner of the world has been represented in the English top-flight throughout the years.
Premier League clubs have been known to scour for the next big thing in South America. The greatest football players of all time have predominantly come from that part of the world, including Lionel Messi and Pele. While neither of those iconic figures graced the English game, there have been many phenomenal talents from South America in the division.
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Micah Richards and Alan Shearer were tasked with ranking the 10 best South American players to have featured in the Premier League. There were disagreements along the way in the 2021 Match of the Day: Top 10 episode, but the duo were in total agreement about the number one spot.
Micah Richards’ 10 Best South American Players
His former Manchester City teammate took top spot
Richards is well known for his time as a Manchester City stalwart. The defender-turned-pundit placed his former Citizens teammate Sergio Aguero at the top of the pile, speaking glowingly about the Argentine’s league debut:
“If you ask me who I would want in front of goal it would always be Aguero. I remember his Premier League debut against Swansea. He just came alive and scored two goals.”
Another of his ex-colleagues at the Etihad, Fernandinho, has done remarkably well to turn around Richards’ first impressions of him: “When he first came he was sick in pre-season because of the intensity. We were looking at him thinking ‘he’s awful’. It took him about two weeks and then we were like ‘wow’. He’s the best defensive midfielder we had. I’ve played with Yaya Toure and Patrick Vieira – he wasn’t as talented as them but he was more efficient.”
The Premier League-winning captain just missed out on a podium place in Richards’ list. Liverpool sensation Luis Suarez took the silver medal while yet another City alumni, Carlos Tevez, was ranked as the third-best South American in the league’s history. The BBC pundit made a bold claim about Tevez’s ability: “His all-round game was better than Sergio Aguero’s.”
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Being one of only two players both men were in agreement about, Richards placed ex-Arsenal juggernaut Gilberto Silva in fifth. Meanwhile, Juninho – who lit up Middlesbrough in the 1990s – was handed the respectable position of sixth.
Alexis Sanchez may be one of the worst signings in Manchester United’s recent history, but the Chile international was a sensation at Arsenal, which Richards concurred with: “At Arsenal he was quality and he worked hard. He had skill and creativity. He was a go-to man.”
Another player who wasn’t as successful at Old Trafford as he initially hoped was Juan Sebastian Veron, and the ex-midfielder had to settle for bottom place in Richards’ standings: “I think it [the Premier League] was a little fast for him, the tempo. He wanted to slow it down a little bit. His ability was off the scale.”
Micah Richards’ 10 Best South American PL Players (Ranked)
Rank
Player
Nation
Premier League Clubs
1.
Sergio Aguero
Argentina
Manchester City
2.
Luis Suarez
Uruguay
Liverpool
3.
Carlos Tevez
Argentina
West Ham, Manchester United, Manchester City
4.
Fernandinho
Brazil
Manchester City
5.
Gilberto Silva
Brazil
Arsenal
6.
Juninho
Brazil
Middlesbrough
7.
Alexis Sanchez
Chile
Arsenal, Manchester United
8.
Gus Poyet
Uruguay
Chelsea, Tottenham
9.
Faustino Asprilla
Colombia
Newcastle United
10.
Juan Sebastian Veron
Argentina
Manchester United, Chelsea
Alan Shearer’s 10 Best South American Players
Two former Man City stars take the top positions
The Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer knows a thing or two about scoring goals, and Shearer cited Aguero’s clinical nature as one of the reasons he took the top spot: “Why Aguero instead of Suarez? He was in the Premier League longer, scored more goals and won more titles.”
While the Man City marksman edged the battle of the iconic strikers, the English pundit still had praise for Suarez: “Suarez was spectacular and outstanding. He perhaps went down too easy at times.”
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Fernandinho was sandwiched between the two goalscoring heroes, while Shearer agreed with Richards’ decision to place Gilberto Silva fifth: “He was a fantastic player. He kept everything ticking along. He could do pretty much everything in that midfield. He was solid and he was hard.”
Uruguayan legend Gus Poyet took sixth place, just ahead of Juninho. Shearer was clearly a fan of the Brazilian who impressed for Middlesbrough:
“What a little genius of a player. We talk about how physical it can be in our league, but for a little skinny kid – as he looked when he first came – to do as well as he did and bounce off some of the tackles, tells you what a very, very good player he was.”
Shearer shared a dressing room with Colombian great Faustino Asprilla and while he ranked his old colleague 10th, the Geordie had kind words: “He was brilliant at running at players, his touch, close control and technique.”
Alan Shearer’s 10 Best South American PL Players (Ranked)
Rank
Player
Nation
Premier League Clubs
1.
Sergio Aguero
Argentina
Manchester City
2.
Fernandinho
Brazil
Manchester City
3.
Luis Suarez
Uruguay
Liverpool
4.
Carlos Tevez
Argentina
West Ham, Manchester United, Manchester City
5.
Gilberto Silva
Brazil
Arsenal
6.
Gus Poyet
Uruguay
Chelsea, Tottenham
7.
Juninho
Brazil
Middlesbrough
8.
Alexis Sanchez
Chile
Arsenal, Manchester United
9.
Juan Sebastian Veron
Argentina
Manchester United, Chelsea
10.
Faustino Asprilla
Colombia
Newcastle United
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Publish date : 2025-01-01 03:20:00
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