Former Premier League winners from Blackburn Rovers, Manchester United, Arsenal, Leicester and Chelsea all feature.
Nathan Dyer of Leicester City lifts the Premier League Trophy
The Premier League is the most watched sporting league in the world. The debate as to whether it is the ‘best’ rages on, but no one can deny it’s incredible reach, popularity and interest. Therefore, Premier League winners are often very well-known within the world of football, and quite often some of the most familiar faces and highly-regarded individuals within the beautiful game.
Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry are just a few examples of incredibly well-known players to have got their hands on the Premier League title, multiple times in fact. But it is not those players that we focus on in this instance, it is those lesser known championship winners who many may not have heard of and even more will be unaware they ever won one of the most prestigious titles in world football.
To be awarded a Premier League winners medal one must feature in 5 or more league games for the title winning team, and it is that criteria which we use here to define a Premier League title winner, so as to avoid including players who were merely named in the squad but never or almost never played. Some are well-known players who people just may not know won the title, while others are generally rather obscure, but all did something Steven Gerrard never could, they won a Premier League title.
7. Alexey Smertin
Alexey Smertin of Chelsea is tackled by Mark Pembridge of Fulham
In Roman Abramovich’s first summer as owner at Chelsea, over £110 million was invested in the playing squad, with the likes of Joe Cole, Hernan Crespo and Claude Makelele arriving at the Bridge. One man who may be considered somewhat fortunate to have joined the free-spending Blues was Alexey Smertin.
Brought in as a squad player from Bordeaux for £3.5 million, could it be that Abramovich largely signed his compatriot due to his nationality? Most probably. The Russian oligarch is well-known for having a large say on footballing matters at Chelsea. Smertin made just 11 starts for the Blues, but that was enough to see him pick up a Premier League winners medal in the 2004-05 season, as Jose Mourinho’s men cruised to the title.
6. Daniel Amartey
Daniel Amartey played exactly five league games for Leicester City two seasons ago as the Foxes recorded a remarkable title win. The exceptional form of N’Golo Kante and Danny Drinkwater meant first team opportunities were at a premium for the Ghanian, but he was much more involved last season, racking up 20 appearances.
5. Jiri Jarosik
Jiri Jarosik #27 of Chelsea FC
The second former Chelsea player in our top seven, Jiri Jarosik spent just a single season in the Premier League, the majority of which was spent on-loan at Birmingham City. However, prior to heading to the Second City, Jarosik turned out 14 times for the Blues, comfortably enough to merit a Premier League winners medal.
The versatile former Czech international hung up his boots in 2015 after a couple of seasons in Spain with Alaves.
4. Gokhan Inler
It may only have been 15 months ago that Leicester City shocked the world by getting their hands on the Premier League title, but you could still be forgiven for forgetting about Gokhan Inler’s involvement in that magical campaign. The Swiss star arrived in the Midlands from Napoli, and was considered an excellent piece of business by Claudio Ranieri.
The press hailed him as a marquee signing and Ranieri said he could be Leicester’s Maradona. He spent a season at the King Power, making the minimum five league appearances required for a winners medal before heading off to Turkey.
3. Stephen Hughes
Stephen Hughes of Arsenal shoots during the FA Carling Premiership match against Manchester United at Highbury
As much as supporters love to see a player coming through their own academy and making the grade in the first team, Stephen Hughes was probably always a little out of his depth at Arsenal. In fact, one might argue he was a little out of his depth in the Premier League at all. The retired midfielder eventually left Arsenal for Everton, but spent just a season and a half with the Toffees, before moving on to Watford, Charlton, Coventry and Walsall.
An easily forgettable Premier League winner, the highlight of Hughes’ Arsenal career was a sumptuous 25 yard strike against Leicester during the 1998-99 season. It was the season before though, the 1997-98 campaign, in which Hughes was awarded a Premier League winners medal. The midfielder made 17 appearances for the Gunners that season.
2. Ronnie Wallwork
Former England under-20 international Ronnie Wallwork is easily among the most forgettable Manchester United players to have been awarded a Premier League winners medal. A graduate of United’s academy, Wallwork was the club’s Young Player of the Year in 1996, an award won by the likes of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs a few years earlier.
For the first team, Wallwork made 19 Premier League appearances in seven years, but 12 of those came in the 2000-01 season, qualifying the former Carlisle loanee for a winners medal. It was a case of a player just happening to be in the right place at the right time.
Wallwork left Old Trafford a year later, and went on to play just 178 league games over the course of his entire career, most coming at West Brom.
1. Robbie Slater
Robbie Slater in action for Blackburn Rovers
The most forgettable and surprising Premier League winner in our book is Robbie Slater. Well known only among supporters of the teams he played for and football fans in Australia, Slater won 44 caps for the Socceroos, which is more appearances than he made in the Premier League with all three of the English teams he turned out for. Slater’s first season in the Premier League was the season in which he won it, playing 18 games as Blackburn won the 1995 title.
Despite actually being quite a regular starter, Slater was eminently forgettable. A few assists here and there the highlight of his single season at Ewood Park. From Blackburn he moved to West Ham, where he played 25 league games, before a couple of seasons at Southampton and rounding off his time in England with a brief stint at Wolves. Aged 52, Slater hung up his boots in 2001 and now works as a commentator.
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