Sofyan Amrabat is in line to make Man United history this weekend by becoming the FIRST Moroccan to play for them… but which 45 nations have been represented at the club in the Premier League era?
- Sofyan Amrabat is in line to make his Manchester United debut this weekend
- If he plays he would be the first Moroccan to play for club in the Premier League
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!
Sofyan Amrabat will write himself into Manchester United history should he take to the pitch against Burnley this weekend.
In playing, the deadline day arrival, who United paid Fiorentina £8million for on a season-long loan, would become the first Moroccan to ever feature for the club.
In the Premier League era 45 nations have been represented in a Manchester United shirt, but Morocco, and Turkey, who have fellow summer signing Altay Bayindir now at the club, are yet to make the list.
Mahmoud El Boustati, who represented Amrabat for his Old Trafford move, claimed the midfielder rejected other offers during the summer to eventually seal a move to United, realising a ‘dream’ in the process.
‘You had a dream that saw you playing under the lights in The Theatre of Dreams,’ El Boustati wrote on Instagram.
Sofyan Amrabat will become the first ever Moroccan to play for Manchester United
The deadline day signing is pushing to be involved against Burnley on Saturday night
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‘You put your trust in me to make that dream a reality, and for 15 years we have been on this journey together that has seen you grow from a young boy with raw talent and a passion for football, to the man you are today, a world class player.
‘My belief in you has never changed and even though these last three months were difficult with so many obstacles, you turned down every club that came calling because you had faith that your dream would come true. One club.
‘We made it brother, a promise kept, a dream realised. The Theatre of Dreams awaits.’
Amrabat has trained this week and is pushing to not only play, but to write his name into the record books as the first Moroccan to ever represent United.
But who has been represented most at United in the Premier League era? Mail Sport takes a closer look…
Unsurprisingly it is English players that have dominated United’s ranks since the Premier League’s inception.
There have been 82 in total, with standouts such as Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Marcus Rashford chief among them.
From there it is the Netherlands that rank second with 14 players having featured for United.
The club has had a rich history with iconic Dutch players, with Edwin van der Sar a Champions League-winning goalkeeper, Robin van Persie the missing piece in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final title, and both Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jaap Stam were titanic figures in the sides they played in.
Granted, there were some misses too. Tahith Chong, now at Luton Town, rose through the academy but failed to make the grade while Alexander Buttner, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Memphis Depay all struggled.
France have had 13 players turn out for United in the Premier League era with Eric Cantona chief among them.
Shinji Kagawa (left) is Japan’s sole flag bearer, while Alexander Buttner is one of 14 Dutchmen
Edwin van der Sar is one of 14 Dutch players to feature – while Dong Fanzhuo is China’s sole representative
The hard-nosed Frenchman was a game-changing signing and Amrabat will hope if he can have even half the impact Cantona did at Old Trafford he will be a massive success.
Patrice Evra, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Fabian Barthez and Morgan Schneiderlin were among other Frenchmen to take their talents to Manchester United, all having varying levels of success.
On paper having a fleet of Brazilians over the years generates excitement of their flair and creativity – yet United have found themselves missing the mark more often than not when it comes to the nine Brazilians to have played for them in this era.
Rafael and Fabio da Silva are seen as perhaps the biggest success from the nine, with Casemiro and Antony the current Brazilian pair in the first team set-up.
Andreas Pereira is now rebuilding his career at Fulham, Fred is at Fenerbahce, while Kleberson, Alex Telles, Anderson and Rodrigo Possebon all largely struggled.
Scotland can boast a club stalwart like Darren Fletcher from their nine in the Premier League era, while Argentina have had eight, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland have had six and Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo their greatest ever representative at United and beyond, down at five.
Amrabat would be the first to fly his flag and there have been 23 nations that have had just one representative at United since the league’s inception.
Manucho (left) flew the flag for Angola while Scotland’s Darren Fletcher (right) was a big hit
Germany have only had one player in the time frame at Man United – Bastian Schweinsteiger
Angola had Manucho, Japan had Shinji Kagawa, Mexico had Javier Hernandez and, perhaps surprisingly, the only German player in this time to have pulled on a Man United shirt is Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Niche players are prime material for Manchester United quizzers and China’s sole representative, Dong Fangzhou, will fall into that category.
Dong made headlines when United picked him up from Dalian Shide for £500,000 in January 2004. It was a forgettable spell and Amrabat will hope for a better legacy as he writes his own chapter at the club.
More recently, Marcel Sabitzer flew the flag for Austria at United for the first time when he featured under Erik ten Hag last season, before the boss elected not to make his loan move permanent.
Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak is Poland’s sole representative, while Radamel Falcao represented Colombia in his ill-fated spell.
Other notable sole nation representatives include; Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia), Dwight Yorke (Trinidad and Tobago), Quinton Fortune (South Africa), Park Ji-Sung (Korea Republic) and Antonio Valencia (Ecuador).
Should Amrabat get the nod in central midfield this weekend he will be the first Moroccan to fly the flag, making it 46 nations and counting in a Man United shirt in the Premier League era.
Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak (left) is the sole Polish player to feature in Premier League era
NATIONALITIES REPRESENTED AT MANCHESTER UNITED DURING THE PREMIER LEAGUE ERA
AFFILIATION
England
Netherlands
France
Brazil
Scotland
Argentina
Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Spain
Sweden
Wales
Italy
Portugal
Belgium
Denmark
Norway
Uruguay
Ivory Coast
Serbia
Cameroon
USA
Angola
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Bulgaria
Cabo Verde
Chile
China PR
Colombia
Czechia
Ecuador
Germany
Gibraltar
Japan
Korea Republic
Mexico
Nigeria
Poland
Russia
Senegal
South Africa
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
NUMBER OF PLAYERS
82
14
13
9
9
8
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
4
4
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Stats via Opta
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