EPL Logo. Source: Wikipedia

People often blame EPL for the England national team's poor performance on international events because local players don't get much chance to play in the league. EPL is going further, while England is going nowhere.

To tackle the problem, the FA introduced Home Grown Player Rule; out of 25 players in a squad, 8 must be homegrown players.

However, is it true that local players don't get enough chance to play in EPL? Is it true that foreign players dominate the league? How is EPL compared to other European leagues on this matter?

Let's do a simple fact-check and compare stats of foreign players in EPL with foreign players in Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, and Ligue 1. All data is from transfermarkt, prepared by me.

English Premier League

Local and Foreign Players in EPL. Data: Transfermarkt.

Judging from the chart above we can say that foreign players are dominating the EPL. Many EPL clubs don't even have 8 local players in their squad. Burnley, Southampton, Cardiff City, Bournemouth, and Everton are the only clubs with more than 10 English players in their squad. Arsenal are the worst with only 4 English players in their squad. At the moment, there are 165 English players (33.07%) and 334 non-English players (66.93%) in EPL.

German Bundesliga

Local and Foreign Players in Bundesliga. Data: Transfermarkt.

From the chart above we can say that Bundesliga has better stats than EPL. Many clubs have more than 10 German players in their squad. Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are the only clubs with less than 10 German players in their squad. At the moment, there are 240 German players (47.06%) and 270 non-English players (52.94%) in Bundesliga. Clearly better than EPL.

Italian Serie A

Local and Foreign Players in Serie A. Data: Transfermarkt.

Serie A is better than EPL but worse than Bundesliga. At the moment, there are 223 Italian players (42.80%) and 298 non-Italian players (57.20%) in Serie A. Napoli and Udinese are the worst with only 4 and 5 Italian players in their squad.

Spanish La Liga

Local and Foreign Players in La Liga. Data: Transfermarkt.

Spanish La Liga is the best compared to other top European leagues. At the moment, there are 276 Spanish players (57.98%) and 200 non-Spanish players (42.02%) in La Liga. Athletic Bilbao even only have 1 non-Spanish of their 27 players. Barcelona are the worst with only 6 Spanish players in their squad, followed by Sevilla and Valencia with only 9 Spanish players in their squad.

French Ligue 1

Local and Foreign Players in Ligue 1. Data: Transfermarkt.

Ligue 1 lose only to La Liga in this matter. There are currently 278 French players (51.58%) and 261 non-French players (48.42%) in Ligue 1. AS Monaco and Lille are the only clubs with less than 10 French players in their squad.

Recap

Local and Foreign Players in 5 European Leagues. Data: Transfermarkt.

Apparently, it's true that EPL is the worst in this matter with only 33,07% of its players are English. The league doesn't give much room for local talents to grow in their own land. Big money attracts foreign talents and the league becomes very competitive for managers to give chance to inexperienced young English talents to play.

While La Liga is the best with 57.98% of its players are Spanish. More local players in the league means more choices for the national team. Spain national team manager must be happy, unlike his colleague in England.

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