Top 5: Frenchmen to play in the Premier League

5. Marcel Desailly

The Ghana-born centre-back may not be a name many of the new generation of football fans are familiar with, but the colossal defender established himself as one of the best of his generation during his stint at Chelsea.

Nicknamed ‘The Rock’ due to his resolute playing style, Desailly was at Chelsea way before the investment of Roman Abramovich and thus he did not enjoy great collective success at his club, but nevertheless he remains one of the best players in Chelsea’s history.

Overall, he made 222 appearances during his six-year stint in England, with his only major honours being a UEFA Super Cup win in 1998, the FA Cup in 2000 and the Charity Shield in the same year. Despite not winning many major trophies, he was voted in the Premier League’s Overall Team of the Decade (1992/1993 – 2001/2002).

Before that he had even better success, winning the Champions League with both Marseille and AC Milan, among countless other trophies at the Italian Club.

But what perfectly displays his greatness is his success on the world’s biggest stage. The Frenchman made 116 appearances for his country and was at the time the country’s leading appearance holder.

In those years, he played an integral role in a golden age of French football, having won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championships in 2000.

He was also named in the European Championships Team of the Tournament for both 1996 and 2000, and the World Cup Team of the Tournament for 1998. This means he was in the Team of the Tournament for three straight Major Championships.

That is an unreal stat and one that highlights him as a tremendous footballer.

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