The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Peru. Though five players have represented Peru in the Premier League, one man stands above the rest.
First Player – Nolberto Solano (Newcastle, Aston Villa, West Ham; 1998-2008)
A Premier League legend. With over 300 Premier League appearances to his name, Nolberto Solano is regarded as one of the Premier League’s finest foreign exports, particularly at Newcastle.
A versatile midfielder with a wand of a right foot, Solano is close to royalty in the black and white parts of the North East. 230 of Solano’s 302 Prem appearances came in a Newcastle shirt, from 1998-2004 and again from 2005-2007.
He also enjoyed spells at Aston Villa and West Ham, before ending a 10-year stint in English football in 2008. Solano made 95 appearances for Peru between 1995 and 2009 and has the joint-sixth most caps of any Peruvian footballer.
Records
- Most appearances – Nolberto Solano (302)
- First appearance – Nolberto Solano (Chelsea 1-1 NEWCASTLE, August 22nd 1998)
- Most goals – Nolberto Solano (49)
- First goal – Nolberto Solano (NEWCASTLE 3-1 Wimbledon, November 28th 1998)
Other Players
No Peruvian has appeared in the Premier League since 2017/18 when André Carrillo spent a season on loan at Watford from Benfica. The other three Peruvians to have made an appearance are Claudio Pizarro (Chelsea), Diego Penny (Burnley) and Ysrael Zuñiga (Coventry City).
Trivia
- Peru are one of 10 CONMEBOL nations to have featured in the Premier League, the only confederation to have had 100% of its members appear.
- Claudio Pizarro is the sixth top scorer in Bundesliga history.
- Claudio Pizarro and Nolberto Solano both appear in the top 10 scorers and appearance makers in the history of the Peru national team.
