English premier league Football has a huge worldwide following, and some of the most recognizable faces in popular culture follow the English football avidly. We, at IslamicFinder, have composed a short list of Muslim players participating in the English premier league and here’s what we know about them.
Riyad Mahrez
Mahrez, an Algerian Muslim, has crowned his meteoric rise by leading his team, Leicester City, to win the title of English Champions of 2015-16. Leicester signed the 25-year-old from French side Le Havre for £400,000 in January 2014. Mahrez has been a sensation since then, scoring four goals in the opening four games of the 2015–16 season. He was also nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award.
In January 2016, Mahrez's transfer value was said to have risen from £4.5 million to £30.1 million, ranking him among the top 50 most valuable players in Europe. When Leicester finished the season as champions, Mahrez became the first Algerian to win a Premier League medal.
In an interview to BBC sport, Mahrez said “I wasn't rich, I wasn't poor. My dad always was encouraging me, always giving me advice, that's why I'm here, I hope he's happy - that's helped me to be more strong. When your dad dies, your mom is alone and in our culture, the man is the boss of the house, so I had more responsibility. I still have and I'm proud of that.”
Mahrez lost his father, to a heart attack at the age of 15. But his determination and skill took him across France and to the top of the Premier League. Riyad Mahrez was also shortlisted for Ballon d’Or awards.
Mesut Özil
Ozil is a german national and one of the key players of Arsenal FC. Ozil started his football career by playing for Schalke in Bundesliga. His former manager, Jose Mourinho, compares him to football legend Zinedine Zidane due to his exceptional performance. Ozil has also represented Real Madrid and is ranked as a world-class player.
Granit Xhaka
Xhaka is a Muslim soccer player from Switzerland who joined English club Arsenal for a fee of £30 million. Making it to the football team of Switzerland, a country where Muslims are expected to follow Swiss customs and are fined for wearing veils is a huge achievement for Xhaka. Surprisingly, Switzerland has eight great Muslim players in its national team including Xherdan Shaqiri who is next on our list.
Xherdan Shaqiri
Shaqiri, another Swiss national, plays as a winger for Stoke City in premier league club. His career has gone through dramatic changes. He was initially playing for Bayern Munich squad and later moved to Italy for football which is why nobody expected him to play at Stoke City.
After several tries, Mark Hughes, the Stoke manager, succeeded in signing Xherdan for Stoke City. Since then, Xherdan has shown his potential by playing a key role in assist providing for Stoke City Football Club. Shaqiri has been facing fitness issues lately but still maintains a key role in Swiss team. We wish him good luck for his future endeavors.
Shkodran Mustafi
Shkodran Mustafi is a German professional footballer who made his international debut in the year 2014 against Poland and was a part of the German team who won the 2014 Fifa World Cup. He signed a five-year contract with the Spanish football club Valencia in 2014 and moved to English club Arsenal for £35 million this year (2016) where he plays as a central defender.
Paul Labile Pogba
Paul Pogba is a French footballer who is playing for Manchester united. Having the ability to play as an attacking and a defensive midfielder, he operates at the center mid.
Emre Can
Just 22 years of age, Emre Can was born to Turkish parents in Frankfurt in January 1994. He started his career by playing for Bayer Munich and later played for Leverkusen. He moved to Premier League to represent Liverpool FC and signed almost for £ 10 million. Can is a versatile player, having played Attacking mid-fielder, Center mid-fielder, defensive-mid, center back and a full back. He has the ability to play box to box and has represented Germany international team 7 times so far. Can is hopeful to flourish himself under Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool FC manager.
The list of Muslim players is endless but we will stop here for this article. Stay tuned for several more players to be covered in part 2 of this post.
