5 of the greatest Asians to have never played in Europe

#5 Mohamed Al-Deayea

Mohamed Al-Deayea - Asia's best goalkeeper?

Probably the best goalkeeper Asia ever produced, Mohamed Al-Deayea spent his entire career in his native Saudi Arabia at the Al Ta’ee and Al-Hilal clubs.

The younger brother of Abdullah Al-Deayea, himself an accomplished custodian, Al-Deayea was the made between the sticks for the Saudi Arabia team who won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 1989 and then went on to make 178 appearances (some have the count at 181) for the senior national team - a recorded that stands to this day.

The Ha’il native was the starting goalkeeper as Saudi Arabia qualified for three consecutive World Cups between 1994 and 2002. He was even, at 34, part of the squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

At club level, he won numerous domestic league and cup titles and also lifted the AFC Champions League trophy with Al-Hilal in 2000.

Rumours have it that at one point Al-Deayea was considered by Manchester United, only for a potential deal to fall through due to the difficulty of securing him a work permit. If true, that was to be his only, brief, flirtation with European football.