Five Asian footballers with most Premier League appearances

Bengaluru, May 19: Global football has always been dominated by mostly Europeans and South American continents but in the recent years, Africa and Asia have also produced some great talents and we have seen some of them plying their trades in the Premier League as well.

Here, we will take a look at five Asian players to have played the most number of games in the Premier League over the years.

5. Son Heung-Min - 151 appearances

The 27-year-old is without a doubt one of the greatest footballers Asia has ever produced. The versatile attacker stunned Bundesliga at an early at Hamburger SV and then at Bayer Leverkusen which led to Tottenham Hotspur snapping him up for a huge amount in 2015.

The Korean Republic international had a rather slow start to life in the Premier League but in the last couple of years, he has been truly phenomenal and has arguably even outclassed Harry Kane as the best player of Spurs. The 27-year-old has made 151 appearances till date in the Premier League and is also the highest-scoring Asian footballer in the Premier League with 51 goals also having managed 30 assists.

4. Maya Yoshida - 154 appearances

The 100-capped Japan international has been a long-term servant of Southampton over the years. He was one of the pillars of the Saints side that earned their promotion to the Premier League and have been a mainstay for the South Coast club in the Premier League as well having appeared in 154 Premier League games.

The 31-year-old was part of the Saints side that lost 9-0 to Leicester earlier this season and he never made an appearance since then. He was shipped off on loan to Sampdoria after six months left on his contract with local newspapers describing it 'end of an era' which shows how much he is adored by the club's fanbase.

3. Park Ji Sung - 154 appearances

The most decorated Asian player in the Premier League, Park Ji Sung will forever be considered legendary figure at Old Trafford. The South Korean international was a key part of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United side for many years and was mostly known for his tremendous versatility and industry. He was even nicknamed "Three-Lungs Park" for his immense work rate.

With 13 major silverware in English football and four for PSV Eindhoven in The Netherlands, he is still considered as the idol of many Asian footballers who have dreams of making it big in European football. He is back with Manchester United post his retirement as a global ambassador of the club and it can only mean good things for Asian football.

2. Ki Sung-Yueng -187 appearances

Ki Sung-Yeung served as a footballer in Great Britain for a decade before he joined La Liga side RCD Mallorca in January. The 31-year-old had two successful seasons for Celtic and then made his move to the Premier League to Swansea City. He was a regular in midfield for the impressive Swans and also won the League Cup with them.

He also had a brief loan spell at Sunderland and later joined Newcastle United following Swansea City's relegation. With 187 appearances in the Premier League to his name, the Korean Republic international gave us some fond memories of himself with some memorable goals against some of the big clubs.

1. Yossi Benayoun - 194 appearances

In his prime, Yossi Benayoun was one of the most flamboyant yet underrated footballers in the Premier League. The 102-time capped former Israel international had spells for clubs like West Ham United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers but his best years were certainly for Liverpool during the Reds' Rafael Benitez era.

A versatile midfielder who could play anywhere in midfield, was a very important member of the Liverpool side under Benitez although his only major honour in England was with Chelsea as he won the Europa League with the Blues in 2013.