There is a long history of the best Scottish football players crossing the border to play their football with English teams. In the modern day, when Scotland aren’t so successful on the world stage, fewer footballers make the switch, but EPL clubs continue to scout the country for the best talent.
Here is a list of all Scottish players to have won the Premier League from its inception through to the end of the 2023/24 season.
Scottish players who have won the Premier League
Darren Fletcher
A midfielder dynamo, Darren Fletcher was one of the unsung heroes from Manchester United’s successful Premier League periods. United spotted his potential while he was playing youth level football in Scotland, and they became his first professional club.
Fletcher made his EPL debut in 2003 and would play in 22 league games in that 2003/04 season. With Arsenal and Chelsea enjoying title success at that time, he would have to wait until the 2006/07 campaign before claiming his first Premier League winner’s medal.
Darren Fletcher was now an important player for United, and he would win five EPL trophies in total, the last of which came in the 2012/13 season.
Brian McClair
Striker Brian McClair became one of the first Scottish players to win the Premier League when his Manchester United side lifted the trophy in the competition’s inaugural season. Three more EPL winner’s medals followed as the Scot continued to play an important role in United’s front line.
McClair joined United from Celtic in 1987 and had already won major honours, including the 1990 FA Cup. By the time he left to join Motherwell in 1997, Brian McClair had scored 45 League goals to help Manchester United to those four Premier League titles.
Darren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson was also part of the Manchester United squad that won the Premier League title in 1993, but he played a less significant role than his teammate Brian McClair. The son of the legendary United manager Sir Alex, Darren Ferguson was earmarked as a promising young midfielder, but he failed to nail down a regular place at Old Trafford.
Ferguson played in just 28 league games for Manchester United over four years, but he did enough to win that solitary Premier League medal.
Colin Hendry
A fearsome defender and great leader, Colin Hendry was a vital part of the Blackburn Rovers squad that won the Premier League title in the 1994/95 season. The Scottish international had originally joined Blackburn from Dundee in 1987, but moved on to Manchester City two years later.
Hendry returned to Ewood Park in 1991 and was present at the very beginning of the Premier League era. He would be made club captain as an acknowledgement of his leadership on the pitch and he played a full part in Blackburn Rovers’ most successful season.
Alan Shearer may have fired in the goals, but Hendy was the rock in defence, playing in forty matches as his club lifted the EPL trophy. Hendry remained at Blackburn until 1998 before heading back north of the border with Glasgow Rangers.
Andrew Robertson
Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson is the most recent Scottish winner of the Premier League at the time of writing. The left back was a crucial member of the squad that won the division in 2019/20, when much of the campaign was played behind closed doors.
Robertson arrived at Anfield from Hull City in 2017, and he proved himself to be a skillful defender who was comfortable with the ball at his feet. During that successful 2019/20 campaign, the defender played in 36 league games as his team lifted the trophy. With Liverpool continuing to be a major force in English football, Andrew Robertson will be hoping for at least one more Premier League winner’s medal before his career is over.
Final Thoughts
Prior to the Premier League era, far more Scottish international players would have claimed top flight English medals. The great Liverpool teams of the 1970s and 1980s included many Scots such as Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen.
Manchester United, Leeds United, Spurs and Arsenal are also among many other teams who enjoyed title success with Scottish internationals in their side. Since the beginning of the Premier League in 1992/93, however, these trends have not continued and that’s why only five Scots have won the EPL to date.
If we look further at the most recent Scottish international squads, the pattern continues. Aside from the skipper Andrew Robertson and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay, a very small percentage of players are currently with English top flight clubs. Those that are here such as Ryan Christie of Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest’s Scott McKenna are unlikely to be challenging at the top of the domestic table.
All of this means that it may be some time before we get another Scottish winner of the English Premier League. Hopefully, the wait won’t be too long, but it’s clear that times have changed.
