The 20 best Argentine players in Premier League history – ranked
There has been more than 70 players from Argentina to have passed through the Premier League over the past 30 years.
Some have been successful, with a few going on to become legends and cult heroes, while others have ended up being completely forgettable and drifted into obscurity.
Here's a look at the top 20 Argentines to grace the Premier League...
20. Andres D’Alessandro
Club: Portsmouth
Andres D'Alessandro only played 13 times in the Premier League following his surprise loan move from Wolfsburg to Portsmouth in January 2006, but he played a crucial role in helping Pompey avoid what had looked like certain relegation that season.
19. Emiliano Buendia
Club: Norwich
The Premier League was too much for Norwich in 2019/20, but without Emi Buendia it could have been far worse for the Canaries. He gave them hope where there was otherwise very little and a £40m price tag was put on his head when Arsenal were linked in January 2021.
18. Julian Speroni
Club: Crystal Palace
Julian Speroni's first Premier League appearances for Crystal Palace came during a tough 2004/05 season. He then spent nearly 10 years as number one until promotion back to the top flight in 2013 and was crucial in re-establishing the Eagles as a permanent Premier League side.
17. Leonardo Ulloa
Clubs: Leicester, Brighton
At one point in time, Leonardo Ulloa was Leicester's club record signing at £8m. He scored 11 goals during the 2014/15 season to help the newly promoted Foxes pull off a great escape and a further six that massively contributed to their Premier League title win in 2015/16.
16. Emiliano Martinez
Clubs: Arsenal, Aston Villa
Emiliano Martinez had to wait close to a decade for his chance at Arsenal, which finally came in the latter half of the 2019/20 campaign. That form earned the goalkeeper a £20m transfer to Aston Villa and has proven he is far more than a one-season wonder.
15. Claudio Yacob
Club: West Brom
Signed as a free agent in 2012 and enjoying an outstanding debut in a 3-0 win over Liverpool, Claudio Yacob proved to be exceptional value for West Brom during the club's longest unbroken run in the Premier League. That included two top-half finishes during his six years at The Hawthorns.
14. Erik Lamela
Club: Tottenham
Tottenham brought in Erik Lamela as a more or less direct replacement for Gareth Bale in 2013. But while he has never quite reached the heights expected, the winger has still been a good servant to Spurs.
13. Manuel Lanzini
Club: West Ham
Only injuries have stopped Manuel Lanzini from hitting greater heights in the Premier League, although flashes of his best form still occasionally emerge when fit. He scored six goals from midfield in 2015/16 as the Hammers finished seventh, followed by eighth in 2016/17.
12. Juan Sebastian Veron
Clubs: Manchester United, Chelsea
The Premier League never saw the best of Juan Sebastian Veron that was on show at Parma, Lazio and Estuadiantes, but he was still a quality addition to the competition. It was more a case of right player, wrong time when he was at Manchester United, but he still won a title in 2002/03.
11. Hernan Crespo
Club: Chelsea
It is easy to ignore the fact that Hernan Crespo scored ten Premier League goals in just 19 appearances in his debut season with Chelsea in 2003/04. He spent the next year on loan with AC Milan, but returned to London in 2005/06 to score another ten en route to the Premier League title.
10. Gabriel Heinze
Club: Manchester United
Gabriel Heinze's tenacious attitude saw him make a huge impact on Manchester United fans upon arriving at the club in 2004, even winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award. He occasionally captained the team and also won a Premier League title in 2006/07 but destroyed his own legacy at Old Trafford by trying to force a transfer to Liverpool.
9. Julio Arca
Clubs: Sunderland, Middlesbrough
Julio Arca was developed by Argentinos Juniors, the same club that produced Diego Maradona, and arrived in England in 2000. At that time, Sunderland were a top-half Premier League side, while he later played for Middlesbrough and was known as a free-kick specialist.
8. Fabricio Coloccini
Club: Newcastle
Although his debut season ended in relegation in 2008/09, former AC Milan and Deportivo centre-back Fabricio Coloccini stuck it out with Newcastle, eventually becoming captain and helping the club to a fifth-place finish in 2011/12 - that remains the Magpies' best season since 2004.
7. Jonas Gutierrez
Clubs: Newcastle, Norwich
Jonas Gutierrez was another Argentine import in 2008 who suffered relegation but was instrumental in helping to rebuild Newcastle. Although generally a reliable servant anyway, his most famous contribution came in the form of a goal that kept the Magpies up on the final day of the 2014/15 season, having recovered from a testicular cancer diagnosis.
6. Esteban Cambiasso
Club: Leicester
From nearly 500 games for Real Madrid and Inter, six domestic titles and the Champions League, Esteban Cambiasso wound up at newly promoted Leicester in 2014. His form late in the season was crucial to the Foxes staying up against the odds and helped kick-off the momentum that brought the club a Premier League title after his departure.
5. Nicolas Otamendi
Club: Manchester CIty
Nicolas Otamendi was a crucial part of Pep Guardiola's first great Manchester City side, playing 34 Premier League games in 2017/18 when the club amassed 100 points. He played over 200 times for the club in all competitions and left with seven medals in his collection.
4. Pablo Zabaleta
Clubs: Manchester City, West Ham
Pablo Zabaleta joined Manchester City before the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 revolutionised the club, yet he became an important part of the success in the years that followed. The right-back was never better than when City won the 2013/14 Premier League title and left the Etihad Stadium a cult hero with over 330 appearances in all competitions.
3. Javier Mascherano
Clubs: West Ham, Liverpool
Until finally lifting the Premier League title in 2019/20, Liverpool were never a better side in the post-1992 era than when Javier Mascherano was anchoring the midfield. The Reds ran Manchester United to the wire in 2008/09 and fell away again as a direct result of Mascherano and a handful of other key players moving on.
2. Carlos Tevez
Clubs: West Ham, Manchester United, Manchester City
Carlos Tevez made a huge impression at each of the Premier League clubs he played for over seven whirlwind years in England. He did the unthinkable by keeping a doomed West Ham up almost singlehandedly in 2006/07, won two Premier League titles with Manchester United and helped build an era of success at Manchester City following a controversial move.
1. Sergio Aguero
Club: Manchester City
No foreign player has scored more Premier League goals than Sergio Aguero. His consistent quality for Manchester City over a decade puts him a step above any of his fellow countrymen, while he will be remembered as one of English football's greatest ever overseas imports.
Aguero's single greatest legacy will forever be the goal that decided the 2011/12 title race, but the fact he wasn't included in a PFA Team of the Year until 2017/18 suggests his exceptional output was often taken for granted.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!