Let’s change from being mean about players, shall we? It is Christmas after all. Instead, we are going to give you 10 guys who are really good at football and seem like nice people.
Here are 10 Premier League players we can’t help but love.
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
We love this guy like a son. Bukayo Saka is just so lovely and a world-class footballer as well.
From innocently asking David Beckham for a picture to copying his friend’s celebrations, Saka should be your favourite player as an Arsenal fan and your favourite player from another club if you don’t.
At the age of 23, Saka is a two-time England Men’s Player of the Year and Arsenal Player of the Season, winning PFA Young Player of the Year in 2022/23. Honestly, if you do not like him, we’d love to know why.
Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
Has there ever been such a carefree player in Premier League history? You can insult Cole Palmer’s intelligence all you want, but he is a beautiful personality and a breath of fresh air. Again, like with Saka, the fact he is extremely good at football helps.
You might choose to find his meme-worthy comments cringe or unfunny but that sounds like a you problem. He just loves chippy chips, alright?
Being robotic in post or pre-match interviews is the norm and we pray that Palmer never becomes properly media-trained because we need his natural responses to continue for the rest of his playing days. He is just so unbothered and honest – it is so good, guys, so good.
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Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
This feels weird, writing nice things about players. I am not used to it. Anyway, Mohamed Salah’s professionalism is probably his greatest strength and any ill feelings towards him are because he has scored too many goals against your team – or your anti-Liverpool agenda.
It is too easy to hate those at the very top and the more success you have, the more jealousy and scrutiny you attract. That means Salah has plenty of haters but not us. The guy is a model professional, serial winner and seems bloody nice as well.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Another outstanding character but a different one to Palmer and Saka, Jamie Vardy is somehow still scoring goals in the Premier League at the age of 37. He is funny, unique and his story is one of the greatest in the history of the sport.
You probably know all of this already but Vardy made his Premier League debut aged 27, scored his first Premier League goal in September 2014 against Manchester United and currently has 142 goals in the competition, scoring five in 2014/15, 24 in 15/16 when Leicester won the title, then bagged 13, 20, 18, 23, 15, 15, 3, and currently has six in 15 this term. The word ‘legend’ gets thrown around a little too often but this guy epitomises the word.
Vardy turns 38 in January and despite being past his best, is doing everything he can to keep Leicester up.
Heung-min Son (Tottenham)
The second-biggest ‘Admit it, you can’t hate this guy!’ in Premier League history behind N’Golo Kante and ahead of a short-sleeved (preferably in the snow) Kieran Tierney.
Heung-min Son has scored too many goals and won too many penalties for Harry Kane against Arsenal for my liking which, through my red-tinted glasses, made it difficult to include him, but sometimes you have to admit defeat and give the people what they want.
There might be no trophy to show for his outstanding Spurs career (I had to get that in there) but Son has still been one of the best players in the Premier League during his time in England. He is likeable, to be fair. Finding a reason to dislike him all stems from the fact he plays for Spurs and that shouldn’t count because you really shouldn’t like a player from your rivals.
Danny Welbeck (Brighton)
My favourite Danny Welbeck story came from That Peter Crouch Podcast back in the day when someone wrote in to say they saw the Brighton man in a nightclub, getting all sort of female attention, only to ignore that to hang out with his pals. A true man of the people, our Danny.
A player hitting their peak in their mid-to-late-thirties is a great way to grow your fandom and every time Welbeck scores a goal for Brighton it brings a smile to my face. It’s hard to describe why; it’s just what happens.
Again, we ask you to give us a reason if you don’t like him. Do Man United supporters have any ill feelings towards him? We are genuinely intrigued…
Michail Antonio (West Ham)
This is obviously not a sympathy inclusion, before you start. Michail Antonio’s old celebrations made him a loveable guy and while some of his stuff on The Players Channel podcast has rubbed a few people – and players – up the wrong way, it is refreshing to see a non-robotic Premier League footballer.
Calling Arsenal fans “delusional” was extremely brave but at the end of the day, he was spot on, wasn’t he? These guys have turned on Ian Wright of all people, because he suggested Saka playing left-wing-back for England at Euro 2024. His lovely Valentines Day message in 2021 was an interesting one as well.
James Milner (Brighton)
Writing this has made me realise I just love professionalism. James Milner is the undisputed top professional, still fit as a fiddle and playing at a high level.
No controversies, no complaints and no vibes in his career. If you don’t like Boring Milner you are just a bit weird, innit?
Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest)
Perhaps the most reactionary of inclusions, Chris Wood’s performances for Nottingham Forest have made him one of the most likeable players in the Premier League.
Wood falls into the same category as Welbeck considering his outstanding form at the age of 33 but what separates him is that he is a real throwback – a proper Barclays frontman. He has 10 goals in 16 this season with Forest punching above their weight.
Jack Grealish (Manchester City)
There are probably a lot of you who don’t like Jack Grealish at all. These people clearly enjoy being miserable and don’t like it when footballers show some character.
Unfortunately, Pep Guardiola has sucked a lot of Grealish’s on-pitch personality and freedom from his game but that has not stopped him from being a legend off the pitch.
He is a charitable guy and frequently goes out of his way to make the day of supporters, using his popularity to provide acts of kindness. Love him or hate him, the crucial thing is that Grealish’s heart is in the right place.
Still don’t like him? Whatever. We don’t care.