Park Ji-sung, Son Heung-min, Pulisic: Premier League’s greatest ‘Rest of the World’ players ranked | OneFootball

Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have ranked the Premier League’s greatest ever ‘Rest of the World’ players for the latest episode of Match of the Day’s Top 10 podcast.

The former footballers-turned-pundits took a closer look at the players from outside Europe, Africa and South America who have made the biggest impact in England’s top division since 1992.

Shearer and Richards were asked to rank the following 10 players: Park Ji-sung, Christian Pulisic, Shinji Okazaki, Dwight Yorke, Tim Cahill, Shinji Kagawa, Brad Friedel, Mark Viduka, Clint Dempsey and Son Heung-min.

Before the debate got underway, the following three players were given honourable mentions: Harry Kewell, Mark Schwarzer and Tim Howard.

Now let’s look at Shearer and Richards’ respective top 10s.

Micah Richards’ Top 10

10. Shinji Kagawa

“He was class at Dortmund, but sometimes it doesn’t work out.”

9. Christian Pulisic

Asked if Pulisic could eventually end up top of this list, Richards said: “I think so, yeah. Maybe Son’s got more natural ability but Pulisic has already won the Champions League and Club World Cup.”

8. Brad Friedel

7. Mark Viduka

“He was class at Leeds.”

6. Clint Dempsey

“He was a good player. He was more like a No. 10 than a striker or could play from the left. He’d drop into nice areas, had a really good leap, he was probably the best American we’ve seen – although Pulisic might overtake him. Really good player.”

5. Shinji Okazaki

4. Park Ji-sung

“Dependable. He never let [Sir Alex Ferguson] down. I think he had more quality than people give him credit for, he could play.”

3. Tim Cahill

“He always used to beat me in the air and I had a great leap! The timing of his jump was impeccable.”

2. Son Heung-min

“If Son and Kane stay together, they will win a trophy under [Antonio] Conte within the next five years. But I don’t think they’ll stay together.”

1. Dwight Yorke

Alan Shearer’s Top 10

10. Shinji Kagawa

“He only had 38 appearances, so that’s the reason he’s tenth on my list.”

8. Mark Viduka

“He worked his socks off every day, was on time, came on for the final four games of the season and didn’t score any. But he worked hard and tried! His touch and technique was fantastic.”

7. Christian Pulisic

“He’s only been here for three years, so that’s why he’s in the bottom half [of this list]. If he’s still here in another three or four years, that might be different.”

6. Shinji Okazaki

“Shinji Okazaki and David May have got a Premier League title and Harry Kane hasn’t!”

5. Tim Cahill

“£1.5 million from Millwall – what a bargain! He was great in the air.”

4. Brad Friedel

Shearer pointed out that Brad Friedel is the only American goalkeeper to have scored a Premier League goal – before being corrected by Gary Lineker, who pointed out that Howard also netted one. Oh, Alan!

3. Park Ji-sung

“Seven years at Man United, he must have had [quality].”

2. Son Heung-min

“He’s fantastic. He just loves football, you can tell that.”

1. Dwight Yorke

“Five clubs, three Premier Leagues, one FA Cup, Champions League. It had to be Dwight Yorke at No. 1, didn’t it?”