The Best Middle Eastern Premier League Players

Some great Middle Eastern players are seen on the pitch

The Premier League is the most watched football league across the entire globe. It has an annual TV audience of 4.7 billion people, so it’s no wonder that players from all over the world dream about playing in the league. Here is a quick look at the best players from the Middle East that are currently showcasing their skills for clubs in the Premier League.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is a player with bags of potential but one who, unfortunately, hasn’t yet been able to get it going in the Premier League. This led to rumours last summer that his club, Brighton, were looking to offload him elsewhere.

He managed to stay at Brighton though, and although he has mostly played cup games for the club, he has shown the odd glimmer of excitement that fans from his home country of Iran know so well. If everything manages to click into gear for the twenty-seven-year-old then there’s no doubt he will become a top scorer at the Amex, something Brighton desperately need.

Mohamed Salah

Since signing for Liverpool in 2017, it’s fair to say that Mohamed Salah is not just the best current Middle Eastern player in the Premier League, but one of the best players to set foot in the league ever. Big words perhaps, but ones that are easy to back up just by looking at the success that Liverpool have had both domestically and in Europe since he joined.

His incredible goal scoring record of 92 goals in the league has helped the Merseyside club win their first league title in thirty years and made him one of the most famous footballers in the world.

Ancient Egypt has inspired many modern-day games; carvings found on historic temples have shown people playing football, whilst modern-day slot machines are often Egyptian-themed games taking inspiration from the riches of the Pharaohs. Whether Ancient Egyptians had the same goal-scoring skills as Salah on the pitch, or the Pharaohs would’ve enjoyed the excitement of slot machines remains unknown.

Said Benrahma

West Ham United have had an immense season so far, and the club find themselves chasing down a top-four spot and qualification for the Champions League for the first time in their history. It would be an incredible achievement for the East London club and Algerian national Said Benrahma has definitely played his part.

The attacking-midfielder has been a reliable feature off the bench for The Irons this season. Benrahma is a player that is used to playing further up the pitch, but now with injuries to key players, he may find himself in a deeper role for the season’s exciting conclusion.

Hakim Ziyech

Moroccan born Hakim Ziyech came into the Premier League this season with a reputation that was sky-high. The midfielder was signed by Chelsea after impressing with Ajax in Holland and The Blues fans couldn’t wait to see that magical left leg of his achieving perfect passes around the Stamford Bridge pitch.

Whilst he hasn’t quite lived up to the performances of his time in the Dutch league yet, he has shown real flashes of mercurial talent that have helped lead Chelsea to the latter stages of the Champions League. Ziyech himself thinks it will only be a matter of time before he is able to fully unleash the quality that he and the other Chelsea attackers have. A scary thought for the rest of the league.

Rhiad Mahrez

Mahrez so nearly ended up at The Emirates

Rhiad Mahrez has been lighting up the Premier League ever since he was a gleaming jewel in the Leicester side; there he managed to magically complete one of sport’s modern-day fairytales by winning the league title back in the 2015-16 season.

The Algerian-born star moved to Manchester City in 2018 and has continued to produce breathtaking moments and collect trophies under Pep Guardiola’s management. It could have been so different though, with Mahrez recently revealing that he wanted to move to Arsenal but Leicester blocked the move. Whether he would have been as successful playing for The Gunners will be one of life’s unanswered questions. The news will definitely have Arsenal fans wishing they had found out the answer.