5 current Premier League players who represent smaller countries

Mkhitaryan is part of a select band of players from the lesser lights of football
Mkhitaryan is part of a select band of players from the lesser lights of football

#3 Ragnar Klavan (Liverpool & Estonia)

Liverpool v Chelsea - Premier League
Ragnar Klavan fighting for the ball with Danny Drinkwater

Ragnar Klavan is another example of a football truism that the country of your birth should not keep you from reaching the highest level in football.

The captain of the Estonian national team was signed by Liverpool last year after stints in the Netherlands with Alkmaar and in Germany with Augsburg. The 32-year-old central defender has failed to keep a regular starting spot, but he's had some good spells in the team.

Klavan played in 20 Premier League games last season and he recently held the starting spot in six straight matches across all competitions before health issues made him miss Liverpool's last couple of games.

It worth noting that Klavan isn't actually the first Estonian in the Premier League. The country with a population around 1.3 million produced its first Premier League player in the 90's when goalkeeper Mart Poom signed for Derby County. He later also played for Sunderland and Arsenal in the league.

As a team, Estonia also has enjoyed some success. The nation is currently ranked 84th in the world and reached the EURO 2012 playoffs, where they lost 5-1 on aggregate to the Republic of Ireland.

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Edited by Omene Osuya