Best 5 Argentine Players to Play in the English Premier League

Lionel Messia and Diego Maradona count among the finest footballers to emerge from Argentina and arguably the Latin American space. Abundantly skilled and ferocious, they have been nightmares for many goalkeepers across their careers.

But aside from this duo, Argentina has produced some incredible football talents that have gone on to dominate the biggest leagues in Europe, regularly featured on top bitcoin bookmaker sites.

This article identifies five of the most successful Argentine footballers to play in the Premier League. 

Sergio Aguero

A legend and a warrior in one pack, Man City fans are eternally grateful to Aguero.

Sergio Aguero is arguably the most successful Argentine to grace the English Premier League (as at the time of writing this piece). 

He's the Argentine with the most EPL goals, assists, and trophies. Aguero has won the league five times, scored 184 goals, and has 55 assists.

His heroics extends to him being one of the most fantastic non-English players to play in the Premier League. Notably, Aguero is the foreigner with the most EPL goals and is 5th on the all-time scorer's chart. 

He played for Manchester City and is the club's record goalscorer with 260 goals. Aguero also won the EPL golden boot once, in the 2014-15 season, beating Harry Kane.

He was at the heart of one of the most iconic moment in the EPL. 

Aguero scored a 93rd-minute winner on the season's final day to gift Manchester City their first English Premier League title. It would mark the start of the greatest moments in the club's history, and Aguero became a club hero.

Javier Mascherano

Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez joined West Ham from Corinthians in the summer of 2006. Mascherano played most of his career as a defensive midfielder, and many regard him as one of the best DMs of his generation. 

He played 147 matches for the Argentina national team and is the country's all-time appearance-maker behind Lionel Messi.

After an impressive stint at West ham which revealed his abilities to Europe's top clubs, he joined Liverpool in 2007. He played one of the best football of his career at Liverpool and nearly won the 2008/09 EPL. 

Although he didn't win any major trophies in English football, his hard work, tactical awareness, and passing ability made him easily one of the best Argentine midfielders to have played in the EPL.

Nicolas Otamendi

Nicholas Otamendi is an Argentine center-back who currently plays for Benfica. He joined Manchester City in 2015 after previous stints and Porto, Valencia, and Athletico Madrid. Mascherano made 138 EPL appearances for the club and scored eight goals.

He won two EPL titles with "The Citizens" (2017-18 and 2018-19), four consecutive EFL Cups, spanning 2016-2020, and the FA Cup in 2019. Mascherano made the 2018 PFA Team of the Year after an impressive season.

He left Manchester City to join Benfica in September 2022 and was part of Argentina's team that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Read also: Brighton & Hove Albion: What Makes Them Successful in the Premier League

Pablo Zabaleta

Pablo Zabaleta is one of the EPL's most tenacious defenders. He played as a full-back for Manchester City and West Ham and is unarguably one of the league's finest Argentines. 

Zabaleta has made the most appearances among all Argentines to have ever graced the EPL with 303.

He was on the scoresheet during Manchester City's historic final EPL matchday in 2012 and won six trophies at the club. He was part of the 2012-13 PFA Tea of the Year.

He joined West Ham United immediately after his stint at Manchester City and made 73 EPL appearances. Zabaleta reached the 300 EPL appearances mark at West Ham, becoming the only Argentine in history to do so.

Manuel Lanzini

Manuel Lanzini has spent eight years at West Ham United and is the only Argentine on this list still playing in the league. 

However, it is debatable that his tenure at The Hammers has not been as phenomenal as we anticipated.

Note that this dent doesn't in any way question his unchallenged technical prowess. He plays mainly as an attacking midfielder, and his strengths are his dribbling, vision, passing, and acceleration.

Lanzini has made 174 EPL appearances, scoring 26 goals. 

He's only behind Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez on the list of Argentine players with the most EPL goals. Lanzini also has 17 assists, making him the joint sixth on the all-time chart.

Conclusion

Over 70 Argentines have played in the EPL since its inception in 1992, each with unique abilities. The country also has many active stars in the league, with six of the country's 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning squad playing in the EPL. 

However, the players on this list are the country's best to have played in the league.