A quarter (25%) of the 552 players going to Euro 2016 play in the English Football Leagues (inc. Swansea & Cardiff). There are more than double the number of players going to Euro 2016 from the English League than from the German League. Nearly 4 times as many English Football League players will compete in Euro 2016 than players from the Spanish La Liga.
Grosvenor Casinos have analysed all the players competing in the 2016 European championship to find out which country’s Premier League is the most sort after by players in Europe.They have visualised the data on an interactive map which can be found click (here).
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While the England’s national team may not be the bookies’ favourites to win, interestingly most players competing in the Championship are actually English Premier League players. With a quarter (25%) of the 552 players going to Euro 2016 coming in from the English Leagues (inc. Swansea & Cardiff).
Making the English Premier League most prestigious League (or at least the most preferred league) to play for in Europe.
One of the bookies’ favourites, Germany,is a distant second place with 65 players from the German’s premier league going on to compete in the Euro Championships. There are more than double the number of players going to Euro 2016 from the English League than from the German leagues.
Despite the Spanish National football team being the defending champions,10 of their players are currently playing in the English Premier League. While there are only 35 players from The Spanish Premier League are participating in the Euros compared to England’s 138 players.
The results may initially leave the FA open to criticism that they haven’t done enough to nurture home grown talent compared to other European football associations. However, another key reason other European leagues have fewer numbers is team investing more in talent from outside of Europe, particularly Brazil and other South American countries. While the English Premier League has sourced the majority of foreign upcoming talent from within and neighbouring European Countries.
| Top Ten Countries/Leagues by players attending Euro 2016 | |
|---|---|
| Country/League | No. of players |
| England (&*Wales) | 138 (25%) |
| Germany | 65 (12%) |
| Italy | 57 (10%) |
| Turkey | 36 (6.5%) |
| Spain | 35 (6.3%) |
| Russia | 31 (5.6%) |
| Ukraine | 21 (3.8%) |
| France | 17 (3.1%) |
| Czech Republic | 16 (2.9%) |
| Switzerland | 15 (2.7%) |
*England & Wales are combined to represent the Premier League.
With 7 of the top 20 teams ranked by players attending Euro 2016, English league clubs dominate. Liverpool are joint top with Juventus, both sending 12 players.
| Team | No. of players in Euro 2016 | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Juventus | 12 | 1st |
| Liverpool | 12 | 1st |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 11 | 2nd |
| Real Madrid | 11 | 2nd |
| Manchester United | 10 | 3rd |
| Barcelona | 9 | 4th |
| Bayern Munich | 9 | 4th |
| Basel | 9 | 4th |
| Fenerbahce | 9 | 4th |
| CSKA Moscow | 8 | 5th |
| Roma | 8 | 5th |
| Dynamo Kiev | 7 | 6th |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 7 | 6th |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 7 | 6th |
| Southampton | 7 | 6th |
| Besiktas | 7 | 6th |
| Arsenal | 7 | 6th |
| Viktoria Plzen | 6 | 7th |
| Chelsea | 6 | 7th |
| Manchester City | 6 | 7th |
Other teams of interest: Stoke City are joint 8th with 5 players, new Premier League champions Leicester City are joint 9th with 4 players – way down the bottom, relegated Aston Villa and Newcastle are joint 12th (last) with just 1 player.
