Best Welsh Soccer Players Of All-Time

Best Welsh Soccer Players Of All-Time

Welsh soccer has a habit of producing generational talents, many going on to win some of the game’s most prestigious prizes including domestic honors and European titles.

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So who are the best Welsh Soccer players of all time?

7. Billy Meredith

Billy Meredith

Across a fruitful career, ‘outside forward’ Billy Meredith played 680 times for Northwich Victoria, Manchester City, and Manchester United, finding the net 188 times throughout his club career. He helped guide both Manchester clubs to English League titles and FA Cup glory.

As one of the best Welsh soccer players of all time, Meredith won 39 caps and scored 10 goals, part of the Wales team that won the British Home Championships in 1907 and 1920.

6. Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes

Striker Mark Hughes is one of the best Welsh soccer players of all time. His club career was spent at teams such as Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea. Hughes won a total of fourteen honors during his time in English soccer and was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year in both 1989 and 1991.

He made his international debut in 1984, playing for his country across a fifteen-year period, winning 72 caps and scoring 16 goals. Hughes was named Welsh Soccer Player of the Year twice and awarded BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 2002.

5. Neville Southall

Neville Southall

One of the best Welsh soccer players of all time is goalkeeping legend Neville Southall, who over the course of fifteen years won 92 caps for his country, which remains the fourth-highest number of appearances in Wales’ history.

Southall played throughout various English soccer leagues most notably for Everton. He claimed the English First Division title twice, three FA Cups, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1985. Southall was also named FWA Soccer Player of the Year that same season.

4. Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs spent his entire club career at Manchester United, appearing 963 times whilst scoring 168 goals and providing a record 162 Premier League assists. He won twenty-six major honors including thirteen league titles, eight domestic cups, and two Champions Leagues.

Amongst the best Welsh soccer players of all time, Giggs made 64 international appearances across sixteen years and scored 12 times whilst also being named Welsh Soccer Player of the Year twice in both 1996 and 2006.

3. Ian Rush

Ian Rush

Ian Rush is one of the best Welsh soccer players of all time. The striker played for some of the most prestigious clubs in European soccer including Italian side Juventus with two spells at Liverpool. He scored 383 club goals, winning fifteen major honors at Anfield that included five English First Division titles, eight domestic cups, and three European Cups.

Rush made his international debut in 1980, going on to claim 73 caps for his country and scoring 28 goals. In 1984, he was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Soccer Player of the Year, and European Golden Boot.

2. John Charles

John Charles

Amongst the best Welsh soccer players of all time, enigmatic center-forward John Charles made his international debut in 1950, playing fifteen years for the national side and scoring 15 goals in 38 appearances. He formed part of a Wales side that were World Cup quarter-finalists in 1958 and won the British Home Championship two years later.

He played 592 times for the likes of Leeds United and Juventus with a total of 284 club goals to his name. The legendary forward won three Serie A titles, and two Coppa Italia whilst finishing as English First Division Top Scorer, Serie-A Top goalscorer, and placing third in 1959’s Ballon d’Or.

1. Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is the best Welsh Soccer Player of all time. He spent the majority of his playing career at Tottenham and Real Madrid, making 553 club appearances overall and netting a total of 185 goals. Bale has won an English League cup, three La Liga honours along with a host of Spanish cups and five Champions League titles! 

Bale has earned a record 111 caps for his country, scoring 41 times whilst proving an integral part of his national team’s successes at both the 2016 European Championships and 2018 World Cup, during the latter he was presented with the tournament’s Golden Ball. He has also been named Welsh Soccer Player of the Year on six occasions.

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