10 of the best Spanish players in the Premier League

#8 Juan Mata

Manchester United v West Ham United - Premier League — Mata is one of the most admired players in the Premier League

Perhaps the most underappreciated Spaniard on the international front, Mata typifies the modern La Roja warrior. Small in size, Mata's game is packed with technical brilliance aided by his subtle touches, deft passing, and astute vision.

During his stint at Chelsea, he won the Champions League and was the club's Player of the Year for 2 consecutive years. He also made it to the Premier League Team of the Year in 2012/13 season.

In a Moyesy United squad that lacked any creative outlets, Mata's arrival came as a whiff of fresh air to the Old Trafford faithful. And ever since, he has been embraced by LVG and Mourinho who had, in fact, sold him in the winter window when he was at Chelsea. If he were a couple of yards quicker, the magic the little Spaniard would weave could shake the world.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Amit Mishra