Which Spaniard has the most Premier League appearances of all time? | OneFootball

No fewer than 162 Spaniards have played at least one game of Premier League football since the division’s inception for the 1992/93 campaign.

Some of those have been more successful than others – while Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres became household names thanks to their performances in England, the likes of Xisco and Sandra Ramirez are not so revered.

Even now, 27 Spanish players ply their trade in the English top flight, with Liverpool‘s Thiago Alcantara and Manchester City‘s Rodri arguably the pick of the lot.

But which Spaniard has made more appearances in the Premier League than any other player? Let’s find out!

Who tops the list?

The top ten is a who’s who of Spanish players. It includes four Premier League winners and four Champions League winners, as well as an accumulative near-3000 appearances in the top division.

Only two of the players are still active, and while Cesar Azpilicueta sits in third, having featured 336 times in the Premier League, David De Gea is at the summit.

The goalkeeper has made a huge 392 appearances and, at the age of 32, he is likely to add to that tally for a good few years yet.

How has De Gea done at Manchester United in the Premier League?

De Gea made the move to Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011 as Sir Alex Ferguson looked to revamp his squad and make another last tilt at the Premier League title before retiring.

The shot-stopper initially struggled, coming in for criticism as he found it hard to adapt to English football. Eventually, though, he found his feet and became the club’s undisputed number one. He made 28 league appearances during the 2012/13 campaign as the Red Devils won the league title, Ferguson’s last as manager and, although United’s form dipped after the Scot’s retirement, De Gea flourished individually.

He won the club’s Player of the Year award three seasons in a row between 2013 and 2016, winning for a record fourth time in 2018. It has not quite been as easy for him in recent seasons, especially the 2019/20 campaign, but he is still first choice between the sticks under Erik Ten Hag and is a leader in the dressing room thanks to his experience.

What are De Gea’s Premier League stats?

De Gea has played at least 25 times in each of his 11 full seasons at Manchester United, and has featured in all 38 games on three occasions.

Petr Cech, David James, Mark Schwarzer, David Seaman and Nigel Martyn.