Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool stars have all made it into our all-time Premier League left-footed XI.
While the majority of footballers tend to be stronger with their right foot, the Premier League has been blessed with some truly world-class left-footers over the years.
Using a 3-4-3 formation, we’ve compiled the best ever Premier League left-footed players into this XI.
GK: Petr Cech
Honourable mentions go out to the likes of Hugo Lloris and Thibaut Courtois, but we simply couldn’t overlook Cech.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal shot-stopper holds the record for the most Premier League clean sheets with 202 and is one of the most iconic keepers of his generation.
A four-time Premier League winner and a four-time Golden Glove winner, Cech simply had to make the XI.
CB: Jan Vertonghen
The Belgian defender spent eight years playing in the Premier League and made quite an impression for Tottenham during that time.
“I think he is the complete centre-back,” Mauricio Pochettino said back in 2018.
“Physicality is his talent. It is genetic. He is an athlete and he could play until he is 40 because his physical condition comes very naturally to him.”
He made it into the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions and formed a formidable partnership with Toby Alderweireld during his prime.
CB: Aymeric Laporte
Alongside Vertonghen, we’ve gone for Laporte, a five-time Premier League winner with Manchester City.
Signed in January 2018 for a fee of £57million, Laporte quickly established himself as one of the best ball-playing defenders that the Premier League had ever seen.
Injuries started to hamper his game towards the end of his spell in England, but at his peak, he was one of the best defenders in the league.
Now aged 31 and playing for Al-Nassr, we’re in no doubt that he’s still more than good enough to play at the highest level.
CB: Ashley Cole
Given the lack of left-footed right-backs, we’ve had to tweak the formation and subsequently play Cole out of position in a three-man defence.
Regardless, there’s no denying that Cole belongs in this XI, in fact, he’s probably one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Arguably the best left-back of his generation, there’s a reason why Cristiano Ronaldo has named Cole as his toughest ever opponent.
RM: Mohamed Salah
From this point onward, we’ve made the XI super attacking.
On the right-hand side, it’s got to be Salah. The Egyptian forward has been unbelievably consistent since joining Liverpool in 2017 and he’s still doing the business today.
The 33-year-old has scored the most left-footed goals in Premier League history and has won the Golden Boot on four separate occasions.
By the end of next season, there’s a chance that he could be the second highest scoring player in Premier League history, if he manages to score more than 27 goals.
With that sort of scoring record, there can be no debate that he belongs in this XI.
CM: David Silva
“He’s an incredible legend,” is how Pep Guardiola described Silva back in 2020.
“He’s a huge competitor. In small spaces, in the pockets, I never saw a player like him.”
There’s a valid argument to be made that Silva is the greatest Spanish player to ever grace the Premier League.
In fact, we recently ranked the best Spanish midfielders in Premier League history and it’s safe to say that Silva ranked well on that list.
READ: Ranking the 10 greatest Spanish midfielders in Premier League history: Fabregas, Silva, Alonso…
CM: Ryan Giggs
Of course, Giggs played his best football for Manchester United as an out-and-out winger, but he did take up more central roles towards the end of his career.
In order to make this XI work, we’ve squeezed him in alongside Silva in the middle.
Given that he’s won a record 13 Premier League titles, it goes without saying that he’s one of the first players on this teamsheet.
The brilliance of Giggs was that he was consistently able to reinvent himself and adapt to whatever the squad needed from him.
From his younger years as a nippy winger to his later years as a controlling midfielder, the Welshman had a bit of everything in his locker.
LM: Gareth Bale
From 2011 to 2013, Bale was an unstoppable force in the Premier League.
Capable of scoring from any angle and bullying any full-back off the ball, he was a real-life cheat code during his pomp.
On the back of an outrageously good campaign in 2012-13, he earned himself a record move to Real Madrid and the rest is history.
ST: Robbie Fowler
Nicknamed ‘God’ by Liverpool fans, Fowler is one of the most prolific players we’ve ever seen in the Premier League.
He used to hold the record for the most left-footed Premier League goals, until a certain Egyptian broke his record in April 2023.
In total, he made 379 top-flight appearances and scored 163 goals, ranking him ninth in the all-time scoring charts.
ST: Erling Haaland
He’s only played three full seasons in England, but for us, Haaland has already done enough to justify his place in this XI.
The Norwegian robot has scored 85 goals in 97 top-flight appearances, averaging a strike every 95 minutes. He’s practically guaranteed to join the 100-club next season and he’s going to do it in record time.
Haaland set the bar incredibly high after scoring 36 league goals during his debut season, but there’s still plenty more to come from the 24-year-old yet.
ST: Robin van Persie
Alright, a three-striker formation is pretty unconventional, but we had to make room for Van Persie.
The Dutchman established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe during his time with Arsenal and his debut campaign for Manchester United has gone down as one of the most iconic seasons to date.
With his cannon of a left foot, he’s also scored some of the most iconic goals in Premier League history.
Substitutes:
Thibaut Courtois, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Matic, Gary Speed, Juan Mata, Mesut Ozil, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Gianfranco Zola.
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