Some how, for some reason, quite a number of great football players never featured for any of the clbs in the English Premier League.
What could have been the cause? Is it that those Premier Leage clubs didn’t have the financial muscle to sign these great players? Or the players themselves snubbed offers from those PL sides?
Whichever was or is the reason(s), NaijNaira has compiled the top 10 fantastic footballers that never played in the EPL.
Ten Best Players Who Never Played in the EPL
10. Sergio Ramos – Ligue 1 (PSG)
Ramos currently plays for Paris Saint Germain and has played for Sevilla and Real Madrid in the past but has never played for a Premier League club.
He started his career at Sevilla and moved to Real Madrid in 2005 where he scored 101 goals in 671 appearances for them winning 22 trophies. In 2021 the Spaniard left Real Madrid to join Paris Saint Germain after 16 wonderful seasons at the Bernabeu.
Internationally, he has 23 goals in 180 appearances for Spain and has a World Cup title to his name in 2010 and also 2 European Championship titles in 2008 and in 2012. Ramos is the most capped Spanish footballer ever.
He would have been one of the best defenders in the Premier League if he had played there and would have benched the likes of Van Dijk, Maguire, Thiago Silva and so on with performances like that.
9. Karim Benzema – La Liga (Real Madrid)
Benzema is another player who has never played in the Premier League. He currently plays for Real Madrid and has played for Lyon in the past.
With Lyon, he played 148 games and scored 66 goals for them in all competitions winning 7 trophies for them including 4 Ligue 1 titles.
Following his impressive performance in Lyon, he was bought by Real Madrid in 2009 and has since then played 611 games scoring 327 goals in all competitions for them winning 23 trophies. The Frenchman is the all-time second-highest goalscorer for Real Madrid behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
Internationally, He has scored 37 goals in 97 appearances for France and won the 2021 UEFA Nations League.
With performances like this, he would have been one of the best strikers in the Premier League and would have broken a lot of records.
8. Neymar – Ligue 1 (PSG)
Neymar is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Paris Saint Germain and has played for Barcelona and Santos in the past. Neymar is known for his tricks, dribbling, vision, creativity, feints, and finishing. He is also an accurate free kick and penalty taker.
He had 8 trophies in his 4-year stay in Barcelona and already has 12 trophies with Paris Saint Germain so far.
Internationally, He is the second highest goalscorer for the Brazilian national team with 75 goals 2 behind highest goalscorer Pele.
What a joy he would have been to watch in the Premier League with his way of entertaining fans and engaging defenders.
7. Raul – NISA (New York Cosmos)
Raul is a former Spanish footballer who played for Real Madrid, Schalke, Al Sadd and New York Cosmos throughout his career. He spent 16 years in La Liga with Real Madrid becoming the club’s third all-time top scorer with 323 goals.
He is known for his ability to score goals, make assists and create chances for his teammates. He never received a red card throughout his career and was an accurate penalty taker.
Internationally, He is the second highest goalscorer of all time for Spain with 44 goals in 102 caps .
With performances like this, Raul would have been an exciting prospect for Premier League clubs. I can guarantee you that if he’d played in the Premier League he would have been amongst the top five top scorers of all time, I mean look at those numbers.
6. Robert Lewandowski – La Liga (Barcelona)
Lewandowski currently plays for Barcelona and has played for Znicz Pruszków, Lech Poznań, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the past. He is the second highest goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 312 goals behind Gerd Muller with 365 goals.
He is known for his ability to score goals with both feet, strength in the air, technical skills, vision, physique and so on. He is also a penalty specialist and a good free-kick taker.
Internationally, Robert is the highest goalscorer for Poland with 76 goals as well as the highest capped player for Poland with 134 caps.
Lewandowski has never played for any Premier League club. He is a goal machine and is one of the greatest strikers in football and would have been a problem for Premier League defenders like Van Dijk, Thiago Silva, Varane and so on.
5. Ronaldinho – Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Fluminense FC)
Ronaldinho is a former Brazilian footballer who played for various clubs throughout his career but made himself known to the world while in Paris Saint Germain, Barcelona and AC Milan.
He is known for his technical skills, creativity and flair. He is capable of scoring with both feet and was a penalty and free-kick specialist.
He won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and the Copa America in 1999. He has 33 goals in 97 caps for Brazil.
Like Neymar, Ronaldinho is also an entertainer who is full of trickery and talented. In the Premier League, he would have been a tough cookie for defenders and would have been an inspiration for young players.
4. Ronaldo – Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (Corinthians)
Ronaldo is a former Brazilian professional footballer who played for notable clubs like Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
He is known for his profilic goalscoring, ability to provide assists through his passing, vision and crossing abilities.
He was also part of the Brazilian team that won the World Cup in 1994 and 2002. He also won the Copa America with Brazil in 1997 and 1999. Ronaldo is the third highest goalscorer for Brazil with 62 goals in 98 matches for them.
I can guarantee that if Ronaldo had played in the Premier League he would have smashed so many records and he would have also caused problems for teams in the Premier League.
3. Diego Maradona – Primera División (Boca Juniors)
Maradona was an Argentine professional footballer who played for clubs like Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, and Newell’s Old Boys throughout his career but is famous for his time at Napoli where he spent 7 years scoring 115 goals in 259 appearances for them.
He was known for his dribbling ability, vision, close ball control, passing, and creativity. He won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986. He is the fifth highest goalscorer for Argentina with 34 goals in 91 caps for them.
With his ability to score goals and provide assists, Maradona would have achieved so many things if he had played in the Premier League.
2. Pele – NISA (New York Cosmos)
Pele is a former Brazilian professional footballer who played for Santos and New York Cosmos throughout his career. He is Santos’ top scorer with 643 goals in 659 games for them.
He was known for his speed, creativity, technical skill, physical power, stamina, athleticism, excellent technique, balance, flair, agility, and dribbling skills.
He is the highest goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games for them. He won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
If he had played for the Premier League there’s no doubt that he would have been the highest goalscorer there and would have smashed records and made new records there.
1. Lionel Messi – Ligue 1 (PSG)
Messi plays for Paris Saint Germain currently and has played for Barcelona in the past. He is La Liga’s highest goalscorer with 474 goals as well as Barcelona’s highest goalscorer with 672 goals.
He is known for goalscoring, finishing, positioning, quick reactions, assists and ability to make attacking runs to beat the defensive line in order to stay onside. He also possesses wonderful vision and range of passing. He is also an accurate free kick and penalty taker.
Lionel is the highest goalscorer for Argentina wth 90 goals. He has won the Copa America with Argentina in 2021 as well as the Olympics in 2008.
Messi is already a legend in the Premer League as he has scored against almost all the Premier League clubs he has faced in the UCL . A true football fan knows that Messi would have demolished records if he had played in the Premier League.
Article updated 2 days ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
