The Five Brazilian Stars Who Have The Most Appearances In The Premier League

David Tully

3 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

Today, we start a series of articles looking at who has played the most games in the Premier League for their respective countries.

In this post, we will be going through the top five Brazilians who have made the most appearances. Unsurprisingly, there are a large number of contenders from the South American country, with English clubs tempted by the skill and talent that comes with the Samdo style of football.

One of the earliest exports from Brazil was Juninho, who famously played for Middlesbrough in the 90s, but he is actually only 12th on the list, having played 125 times in the top flight.

So who is in the top five? Press the next page as we go through the Brazilians who are the highest appearance makers of the Premier League era.

5) Heurelho Gomes (Spurs And Watford) – 195 appearances

After signing for Tottenham from PSV in 2008, the goalkeeper initially struggled for form, but he was the London club’s number one for three years. He did eventually lose his place, making very few appearances between 2011 and 2014.

Watford signed him on an initial one-year deal in the summer of 2014, and he helped the Hornets to promotion to the Premier League. He was then the club’s first choice for the next three seasons in the top flight before the arrival of Ben Forster meant he was relegated to the bench. He retired back in October.

4) David Luiz (Chelsea and Arsenal) – 201 appearances

The Brazilian centre-back has won the Premier League, the FA Cup three times, the Champions League and the Europa League twice during his time in England but he has always been criticised for his lack of consistency.

Luiz is in the twilight of his career now with Arsenal, and it remains to be seen how long he’ll stay in English football with his current contract with the Gunners expiring in the summer.

3) Fernandinho (Manchester City) – 232 appearances

The consummate midfield enforcer, the Brazilian international has been an outstanding presence in the Citizens’ team for the last six and a half years.

Fernandinho has lifted three Premier League titles whilst at the Etihad Stadium and, now captain, he will be hoping to make it four before his expected departure at the end of the season.

2) Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) – 247 appearances

Much-maligned when he was initially introduced into the Reds’ first team, the Brazilian eventually won over his own supporters with his consistent performances in the middle of the park.

Lucas was a very good defensive midfielder, breaking up play and passing the ball forward, and he is carried on in the same vein since leaving Liverpool for Lazio in 2017.

1) Willian (Chelsea and Arsenal) – 247 appearances

At the time of writing, the winger is joint level with Lucas in terms of appearances but that will likely change in the very near future. The Brazilian had a great career at Chelsea, winning two Premier League titles over a seven-year period.

Willian moved to Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer and, while he has struggled to get going so far, he has been an excellent performer in the Premier League over the years.