Several EURO winners played for Premier League clubs when they lifted the trophy.
The Premier League is undoubtedly the best in the world but it has been unable to contribute well to the England national team’s success so far. The Three Lions have yet to win silverware in major competitions since the 1966 FIFA World Cup. In EURO 2024, Gareth Southgate’s men have been under criticism for their display in the preliminary round. They are unlikely to snatch a title this year due to their unconvincing and dull form. Therefore, EPL will not see EURO winners from England any time soon.
However, the English top flight has already had such since its early years. Some foreign players from EPL have been EURO winners from time to time. Here are those notable figures who have clinched such a title not only as a member of the squad but became the key man in the campaign.
Peter Schmeichel (1992)
The former Danish goalkeeper was the first Premier League star to win EURO. He just joined Manchester United in 1991. Schmeichel’s first season in England was fine, as he helped them win the UEFA Super Cup in 1991 but did not win the league yet as United only finished second behind Leeds in 1991/92. The former Brondby man-made 53 appearances in all competitions and kept clean sheets in 25 games.
In EURO 1992, he became the star of the tournament and kept clean sheets twice, at the opener and in the final. Schmeichel was even named the best goalkeeper in the tournament. He went on to be the key man in Denmark until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. It was his first and last World Cup appearance for the Great Dane.
At the club level, he enjoyed a trophy-laden spell with the Red Devils, winning five league titles and a treble in 1999. The father of Denmark’s current shot-stopper, Kasper Schmeichel, also played for Manchester City and Aston Villa before he retired.
Didier Deschamps, Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera, and Marcel Desailly (EURO 2000)
The EURO 2000 champion, France, had the most Premier League players in their starting XI. Roger Lemerre’s side fielded four names in all games during their campaign: Marcel Desailly at the backline, Didier Deschamps and Patrick Vieira in the midfield, and Thierry Henry upfront in a 4-3-1-2 formation. Deschamps and Desailly were playing for Chelsea at that time, while Henry and Viera had been Arsenal stars in Arsene Wenger's team. The former contributed three goals plus one assist, while the latter registered two assists in the competition.
Desailly joined the Blues in 1998, while Deschamps just signed for them in 1999. Both had been instrumental in Chelsea’s success in the late 1990s. The former had won the UEFA Super Cup before reuniting with the latter to secure the FA Cup title in 2000. Both had been teammates before in Marseille, as OM lifted the Champions Cup (the old version of the Champions League) trophy back in 1993. Unfortunately, Chelsea only sat fifth in the 1999/2000 campaign.
Meanwhile, Viera and Henry were the key men to The Gunners' invisible squad in the early 2000s and delivered several domestic silverware. Viera arrived earlier in 1996 before Henry, who switched sides to North London after his disappointing spell at Juventus. In 1999/2000, both were unable to help Arsenal topple Manchester United as they only finished second. They enjoyed the Premier League title together twice, in 2002 and 2004.
Stelios Giannakopoulos (EURO 2004)
The unlikely EURO winner, Greece, had one representative in the Premier League, the versatile winger, Stelios Giannakopoulos. He just signed for Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2003 and was part of Sam Allardyce’s side by playing regularly to help them finish eighth in the 2003/04 season, when He scored three goals and provided four assists in 39 games.
In EURO 2004, Giannakopoulos made four appearances, including the final. He only missed the clashes against Russia at the group stage and France in the round of eight. The former Olympiacos man stayed at Reebok Stadium until 2008.
David Silva (EURO 2012)
The former Spanish international was the key man in Manchester City, which he joined in 2010. He stayed in the Etihad until 2020 and had won four Premier League titles before he left for Real Sociedad. In 2012, Silva was instrumental in helping them win their first EPL dramatically under Roberto Mancini. He played 49 times in the 2011–12 campaign and registered eight goals and 19 assists.
In EURO 2012, the former Valencian was one of the key figures in La Furia Roja’s success in retaining the title. He scored two goals and made four assists in the process, including the opening goal in the final when they hammered Italy 4-0. Silva was inseparable from Spain's golden generation as they snatched EURO 2008 and clinched their first-ever World Cup two years later.
Jose Fonte (EURO 2016)
From the EURO 2016 winners, only one name represented the Premier League when Portugal lifted their first-ever major trophy at the senior level. The centre-back Jose Fonte was playing for Southampton at the time, the club that he signed for in 2010. The former Lille man stayed at St. Mary’s until 2017. In the 2015/16 campaign, he appeared in 43 matches, scoring two goals and providing one assist. Under Ronald Koeman, the Saints managed to finish sixth on the table.
In 2016, he was the mainstay at Selecao das Quinas’ backline. Interestingly, he just got a nod in the starting lineup from the knockout stage onwards. Fonte appeared in four games, including the final, pairing up with Real Madrid's Pepe to form a solid defensive line, which was the key to Fernando Santos’ men’s victorious campaign. He is currently still playing for Sporting Braga at the age of 40.
Jorginho (EURO 2020)
In the last edition, Jorginho was the Euro winner who played for the Premier League side. He was part of Chelsea’s squad when Italy clinched their second European championship title in EURO 2020, which was held in 2021 due to the world pandemic. The former Napoli man joined The Blues in 2018 and became the mainstay of the first team until 2022 before switching sides to Arsenal in the winter of 2023. He contributed heavily when Chelsea snatched their second Champions League title under Thomas Tuchel in 2020/21 and reached the FA Cup final but only finished fourth in the league. It was probably the last time Chelsea tickets were in high demand globally.
In EURO 2021, Jorginho did not score or provide any assist in the tournament; he even failed to convert his regular penalty in the final, but he was one of the highly-rated players during the competition. He was even nominated for the Ballon d'Or in the same year.
