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With the likes of Gabriel Jesus (Brazil), Alexis Sanchez (Chile) and Sergio Aguero (Argentina) currently starring in the Premier League, it seems like there has been no better time as a South American to be playing in England’s top flight.
Given the cultural differences – as well as the climate ones – it’s no wonder that players from South America haven’t been as common in England as players from Europe and that a lot of them – the likes of Emerson, Robinho and Juan Veron – just couldn’t adjust to the ways of the Premier League despite being excellent players in their own right.
Quite a lot have been major hits in their time in the EPL, though, winning plenty of silverware and gaining a ton of fans in the process. Here then are ten of the best South Americans in Premier League history.
#10 Antonio Valencia
Hailing from Ecuador, it’s a sign of Valencia’s success in England that he’s currently into his ninth season with arguably the biggest club in the country in Manchester United and over those nine seasons he’s been a regular first-team player. He’s not the flashiest member of United’s cosmopolitan squad but he’s been consistently good enough for four managers – Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho – to keep on picking him.
Valencia first came over to England with a much smaller club, though – Wigan Athletic – where he spent three seasons, the first on loan, and was a big hit with the fans, essentially being ever-present in their 2008/09 Premier League campaign. His move to Old Trafford followed for a relatively small fee of £16m, becoming United’s first signing of the 2009 close season.
Perhaps his greatest asset? His versatility. Initially beginning life at United as an attacking midfielder, Valencia’s first team prospects grew hugely under the reign of Van Gaal, who converted the Ecuadorian into a right back and a right wing-back, and he hasn’t looked back since, essentially becoming United’s go-to man in the position.
Most recently, he scored his first goal of 2017/18 – a 20-yard half volley against West Ham that will probably go down as a Goal of the Season contender.
#9 Gustavo Poyet
Uruguayan midfield veteran Poyet didn’t cost Chelsea a penny when they signed him, surprisingly enough. He joined the Blues in the summer of 1997 on a free transfer just prior to his 30th birthday, after becoming Real Zaragoza’s longest-serving foreign player. After his first season at Stamford Bridge was cruelly cut short due to a knee injury, he came back with a vengeance in 1998/99 – scoring 14 goals as Chelsea finished third in the Premier League.
1999/00 was even better for the Uruguayan as he contributed an outstanding 18 goals, including scoring both in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Newcastle in the FA Cup semi-finals. The side went on to win the FA Cup and also reached the Champions League quarter-finals, with Poyet proving an instrumental part of the side throughout.
Despite scoring another 12 goals in the subsequent season, Poyet was allowed to leave for Tottenham in the summer of 2001, and he proved to be a hit at White Hart Lane too, scoring 23 goals over three seasons despite picking up a lot of injuries.
Poyet loved England so much in fact that he ended up managing Brighton & Hove Albion for four seasons before heading back to the Premier League with Sunderland, where he had one solid season before being fired towards the end of the 2014/15 season with the club in danger of relegation.
#8 Gilberto Silva
Players from Brazil are rarely well-known for their prowess in the holding midfield position, but that certainly wasn’t true for Gilberto Silva, who spent six seasons at Arsenal and won the Premier League and two FA Cups, and also starred in the side that made it to the Champions League final in 2005/06.
Gilberto was of course signed by Arsenal following his role in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup triumph, in which he played every minute of every game.
While Claude Makelele is usually credited with the popularity of the holding midfielder in mid-2000’s Premier League teams, you could definitely offer up Gilberto as an alternative. When Arsenal won the Premier League in 2003/04 – the legendary ‘Invincibles’ team that went the whole season unbeaten – it was Gilberto who was arguably the most important component as he shielded the defence and allowed the attacking stars like Thierry Henry to flourish in front of him.
Not that Gilberto had a problem with scoring goals himself, though – thanks in part to a stint as Arsenal’s regular penalty taker, the Brazilian contributed 11 goals in all competitions in 2006/07 and surprisingly finished the season as the Gunners’ second top scorer.
By the time he moved to Panathinaikos in the summer of 2008 Gilberto had played well over 150 games in the Premier League alone for Arsenal, and at his peak he was clearly a world-class talent.
#7 Juninho
We go way back into the mid 1990’s for this one. At the time, the transfer seemed utterly bizarre – Juninho was considered one of Brazil’s brightest prospects following their 1994 World Cup victory, and so to see him signing for Middlesbrough – just months after they’d been promoted into the Premier League for 1995/96 – seemed absolutely insane.
But it indeed happened and unlike the other big-name imports they signed – Emerson, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Branco – he was clearly committed to the cause and became an instant hit with the fans.
The Teesside faithful nicknamed Juninho ‘The Little Fella’ and watched in awe as his performances as an attacking midfielder led the club to the finals of both the FA Cup and League Cup in 1996/97, although they lost both games.
The team were eventually relegated that season, with Juninho left in tears on the pitch following the decisive game. The relegation led him to move to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 1997, basically to ensure he’d gain a place in Brazil’s 1998 World Cup squad, but the story wasn’t over there.
In 1999/00 Atletico loaned Juninho back to Middlesbrough and he again starred for them in the Premier League, before a third spell – this time a permanent one – followed from 2002 to 2004. By that point Juninho was at the tail end of his career, but his commitment to the club meant he remained an icon and in 2007, he was voted Middlesbrough’s greatest ever player. Not bad for a guy originally expected to be another foreign mercenary.
#6 Pablo Zabaleta
Still playing in the Premier League for West Ham, Argentine right-back Pablo Zabaleta is, of course, best known for his time at Manchester City. Signed in 2008/09, Zabaleta was the final player to join the club prior to the takeover by Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi United Group.
It’s a testament to his ability and commitment to the cause that despite being signed prior to City becoming one of the richest clubs in the world, he was never replaced by an expensive upgrade until this summer, at the age of 32 following nine seasons at Eastlands.
During his time at City, Zabaleta became hugely popular with the fans for his consistency and commitment, emerging as a cult hero who was even given his own banner in the stands – a picture of him with a bandage around his head, alongside the words ‘Heart and Soul’.
He won the club’s Player of the Year award in 2012/13, and when he finally left at the end of 2016/17, he was given a lifetime season ticket at the club as well as a personalised shirt reading ‘Zabaleta 333’, marking the number of appearances he made there.
Zabaleta’s trophy haul included two Premier Leagues, one FA Cup and two League Cups – and he was also pictured partying with former Oasis star Noel Gallagher after City’s 2014 League Cup triumph. It doesn’t get much more Manchester, really.
#5 Philippe Coutinho
It might be somewhat controversial to rank Coutinho above Zabaleta and Gilberto given he hasn’t actually won anything, and over Juninho given the latter’s iconic status in Middlesbrough, but let’s be fair – Coutinho has been absolutely fantastic throughout his Liverpool career and he does hold one individual title at least – the highest scoring Brazilian player in Premier League history.
Plus, he’s just been nominated for the 2017 Ballon d’Or, what’s not to love?
Coutinho joined Liverpool midway through the 2012/13 season and immediately made an impact; debuting in February, by March he’d already scored and set up enough goals to be named Liverpool’s Player of the Month.
The Little Magician hasn’t looked back since, becoming Liverpool’s focal point in midfield – particularly after the departure of Steven Gerrard – and he almost helped the Reds to a first Premier League title in 2013/14, before that slip from the afore mentioned Gerrard allowed their challenge to slip away, no pun intended.
As part of Liverpool’s so-called ‘Fab Four’, alongside Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, it seems like only a matter of time before Coutinho gets his hands on a trophy. And despite the Barcelona links of the summer still lingering, he’s currently in his sixth season with Liverpool and remains probably their most important player.
#4 Alexis Sanchez
Costing Arsenal £31.7m following the 2014 World Cup, it says a lot about Alexis Sanchez and his talents that his fee would probably be looked upon as an absolute steal today, and if he were to be sold – assuming he doesn’t walk at the end of his contract for free – he’d probably fetch triple the amount of money at least.
The Chilean international has been brilliant for the Gunners since he made the move from Barcelona, becoming their key player – practically a one-man team at really low points for the Londoners – and their top scorer over the last three seasons.
2016/17 saw him score 30 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions, a truly astonishing feat given he’s not an out-and-out striker, and he also chipped in with 13 assists, too. His first season at the Emirates saw him win Arsenal’s Player of the Year award, an achievement he repeated last season, and he also helped the side to retain the FA Cup in 2014/15 and then win it again in 2016/17.
Basically, since he arrived, Arsenal’s ups and downs in form have followed the ups and downs of Sanchez. He’s that much of a key man.
Sure, he’s not without his critics – he’s seen as somewhat of a flat-track bully by some fans, being accused of going missing in the big games and failing to really pull his weight when the odds are against Arsenal.
But it’s hard not to admire a player who plays the game with such a great mix of skill and sheer power. He’s simply a tremendous talent who’s fantastic to watch when he’s at his best.
#3 Carlos Tevez
One of the most controversial signings in Premier League history, Carlos Tevez’s move to West Ham – alongside Argentine compatriot Javier Mascherano – in 2006 shook the football world to the core, not only because of the idea of two potentially world-class players moving to a relatively small club, but because it was the first move to really highlight the issue of third-party player ownership, an issue that still causes controversy today.
It says a lot about the talents of Tevez that most people have forgotten about the whole debacle now following seven years in England that saw him not only single-handedly save West Ham from relegation – he scored seven goals late in the 2006/07 season, including a final day winner against Manchester United that allowed the Hammers to survive – but go on to win two Premier League titles – and a Champions League – with United, and then a further Premier League title and an FA Cup with Manchester City.
Sure, Tevez’s move to City was almost as controversial as his move to West Ham – remember the ‘Welcome to Manchester’ banner? – and his exit from England was pretty unceremonious, but while he was in the Premier League he was awesome. He scored 84 Premier League goals in just 165 starts, and is the only South American to win the Premier League with two different clubs.
#2 Luis Suarez
Like him or loathe him – and many do the latter after some of the incidents he was involved in, such as the racism controversy with Patrice Evra, and the biting of Branislav Ivanovic – nobody can deny that Luis Suarez had a monstrous impact during what was essentially a very brief Premier League career. The Uruguayan only spent three full seasons at Liverpool but while he was there he was phenomenal – scoring more than 30 goals in all competitions in his final two seasons, including a ridiculous 31 Premier League goals in 33 games in 2013/14.
That was of course the season that Liverpool came oh-so-close to winning that elusive Premier League title, and while plenty of others had a lot to do with that title challenge – Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard et al – it was Suarez who was always the focal point, always in the thick of things, and it was unsurprising when he was named the Premier League’s Player of the Season that year.
The fact that Suarez was so good made his dark side even more frustrating – his record of 54 goals in 66 Premier League games in his final two seasons was so good that the only players with more goals over a two-season period are Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry. Who knows how many more he would’ve scored had he not spent ten games suspended for the biting incident? And who knows how many he could’ve scored had he not been seduced by a move to Barcelona in the summer of 2014?
#1 Sergio Aguero
It couldn’t be anyone else really, could it? Argentina’s Sergio Aguero was not only the final piece in the puzzle to allow Manchester City to finally win the Premier League title – their first top-flight title in 44 years, and he scored that famous final goal too – but he’s also arguably the greatest player to ever pull on a City shirt.
At the end of 2014/15, Aguero had the highest goals-to-games ratio in Premier League history, averaging a goal every 109 minutes – or almost a goal-per-game, which is insane.
Want more stats? He’s the highest scoring non-European in Premier League history, which basically puts him at the top of this list, and he reached 100 Premier League goals faster than any other player in league history outside of the great Alan Shearer, reaching the mark in just 147 games.
He holds the joint-record for most goals scored in any Premier League game with five, and he did it faster than anyone else too – just 23 minutes and 34 seconds. His goalscoring record is simply ludicrous – even in his lowest scoring, most injury-hit season (2012/13) he still managed 17, and since then his lowest has been 28.
His trophy haul includes two Premier League title medals and two League Cups and he shows no sign of slowing down – he’s already got 6 goals in 6 Premier League games this season.
And yet he’s still humble, is never involved in any controversy, and he’s just two goals away from becoming Man City’s all-time leading goalscorer, all in just seven seasons. It’d be hard to argue that he’s not the Premier League’s best ever foreign player, let alone the best South American.
