Who is the best manager in the Premier League? It’s a hot debate topic if you bring it up. But isn’t it strange how no one talks about which of the Premier League managers was the best player?
It’s a fairly accepted truism that you have to have been a player to be a manager, not necessarily a great player, but there are certain insights to be gleaned after having played the game. The thing is, some managers were top players; maybe even top, top players – and that can either be a boon to their success or an albatross around their necks.
Looking at the 2025-26 Premier League clubs’ managers, we’ve decided to rank them by how they were as players. Does it stack up to their skill as coaches? Was David Moyes better than Enzo Maresca? Read on and find out!
Disagree with any of our picks? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!
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20. Fabian Hurzeler
Brighton
- Position: Midfielder
- Notable teams: Bayern Munich II
Fabian Hurzeler came through the academy at Bayern Munich, going on to represent their reserve team. But he didn’t make it too far as a footballer, retiring from professional football at just 22.
19. Thomas Frank
Tottenham
- Position: Midfielder
- Notable teams: n/a
Thomas Frank’s playing career didn’t even get to the professional stage as the Dane moved on to youth coaching in his mid 20’s. Aged 31 he became coach of the Danish u16 and u17 national sides, and the rest is history.
18. Daniel Farke
Leeds
- Position: Striker
- Notable teams: SV Lippstadt, Paderborn
Daniel Farke spent the entirety of his playing career in Germany’s lower tiers, for a variety of different clubs. Although he did have a long career, the level of football definitely counts against him on this list.
17. Regis Le Bris
Sunderland
- Position: Defender
- Notable teams: Rennes
Regis Le Bris’ playing career wasn’t spectacular, spanning nine seasons in France and Belgium. Playing as a right-back, the Frenchman wasn’t really a regular for his teams – with 19 appearances his most in a single league season.
16. Rob Edwards
Wolves
- Position: Defender
- Notable teams: Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Derby, Wolves, Blackpool, Norwich
Rob Edwards represented a lot of clubs as a player, but he only really made a name for himself at two: Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackpool. Edwards spent four years with Wolves, playing over 100 times as a centre-back. He started his career with Aston Villa but couldn’t break into their first team. Edwards retired at the age of 30, quickly turning to coaching, but not before earning 15 caps for Wales.
15. Unai Emery
Aston Villa
- Position: Midfielder
- Notable teams: Real Sociedad, Toledo
Unai Emery spent most of his playing days in the lower leagues of Spanish football before rising up the ranks as a manager. He started at Real Sociedad, but only played a handful of times before leaving. Emery did make 331 league appearances in the Segunda Division for a host of different sides.
14. Marco Silva
Fulham
- Position: Defender
- Notable teams: Rio Ave, Estoril
Marco Silva is another former player that has definitely thrived more as a manager. The Fulham boss spent his entire playing career in Portugal, and represented nine different clubs without really settling. He enjoyed the best spell of his carer at Estoril, spending six years there before taking over as manager.
13. Eddie Howe
Newcastle United
- Position: Midfielder
- Notable teams: Bournemouth, Portsmouth
Eddie Howe actually had a decent playing career, even if injury prevented him from reaching his full potential. He played over 200 games for Bournemouth in what is now called League One before injuries began to take their toll after a move to Portsmouth. Fans crowdfunded the money to sign Howe back for Bournemouth and he rejoined for three final years, again plagued by injuries, before retiring aged 30 and, one year later, becoming Bournemouth boss.
12. Sean Dyche
Nottingham Forest
- Position: Defender
- Notable teams: Nottingham Forest, Millwall, Watford, Chesterfield
It’s no surprise to that Sean Dyche was a centre-back during his playing career. The Englishman started his career at Nottingham Forest but spent the most time with Chesterfield, in the fourth and third-tiers of English football. He did reach the FA Cup semi-final in 1997 with Chesterfield, losing to eventual runners-up Middlesbrough. Dyche spent the rest of his career in the lower leagues, winning the third-tier title in 1999-2000 with Millwall.
11. Oliver Glasner
Crystal Palace
- Position: Defender
- Notable teams: SV Ried
Oliver Glasner wasn’t a globetrotter, spending all of his playing career in his native Austria. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t successful. The former defender played over 500 league games in his native country, most of which came with SV Ried. He won two Austrian Cups during his time at the club, and will go down as one of their legends.
10. David Moyes
Everton
- Position: Centre-back
- Notable teams: Celtic, Bristol City, Dunfermline, Preston
Despite being part of Celtic’s 1982 title-winning side early in his playing career, David Moyes never reached any particular individual heights as a player after that. Most of his professional appearances came at Dunfermline and Preston, and the latter eventually hired him as a coach, then manager.
9. Nuno Espirito Santo
West Ham
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Notable teams: Porto, Deportivo La Coruna, Vitoria
The only goalkeeper in this list, Nuno Espirito Santo represented a handful of clubs during his playing career. The most notable was Porto, whom he represented over 50 times. It was at the Dragons that Espirito Santo picked up a Champions League winner’s medal as an unused substitute in the final. He also has a goal to his name, scoring a penalty in a cup thumping for Porto.
8. Keith Andrews
Brentford
- Position: Centre-Back
- Notable teams: Brighton, Bolton, Stoke, Blackburn, Wolves
Keith Andrews represented a lot of clubs during his career. But a lot of those teams were in the Championship and below. He had three separate clubs in the Premier League, with 70 of his 85 appearances in the top flight coming for Blackburn Rovers. The Irish midfielder wasn’t a bad player, not by any stretch of the imagination. But he also wasn’t a player to light up matches.
7. Liam Rosenior
Chelsea
- Position: Midfielder
- Notable teams: Fulham, Reading, Hull, Brighton
Liam Rosenior is a former Premier League right-back, albeit not a spectacular one. Rosenior made 141 appearances in the top flight across four clubs, with just over half coming for Fulham. But he also played over 200 times in the Championship, making 102 appearances for Hull City. The Tigers were the most-represented club of Rosenior’s career and he spent five years there. Such was his affiliation for Hull, he managed them for two years between 2022 and 2024. He was a reliable man for his clubs, but was never a world beater.
6. Andoni Iraola
Bournemouth
- Position: Defender
- Notable teams: Athletic Bilbao, New York City FC
Andoni Iraola was an Athletic Bilbao man as a player, spending 14 years with the club. It’s a surprise that he didn’t immediately go from playing for them to managing them! The Basque Country native played over 500 games for Athletic Bilbao over his career as a right-back, before spending a final year at New York City. Unfortunately he didn’t pick up any trophies, losing a few finals.
5. Scott Parker
Burnley
- Position: Midfielder
- Notable teams: Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham
Scott Parker was ticking off as many London clubs as he could as a player. But it wasn’t because he wasn’t good. It was because so many clubs wanted him. Although his career at Chelsea didn’t go exactly to plan, Parker used that experience to continue his growth. He turned into a very reliable midfielder for club and country, making 18 appearances for England.
4. Arne Slot
Liverpool
- Position: Attacking midfielder
- Notable teams: Sparta Rotterdam, NAC Breda, PEC Zwolle
Arne Slot didn’t leave the Netherlands during his playing career, splitting time largely between PEC Zwolle and NAC Breda. An attacking midfielder, Slot helped PEC Zwolle gain promotion twice to the Eredivisie – at opposition ends of his career. He scored over 100 goals during his career, also adding more than 50 assists. In a time when footballing ability wasn’t based solely on stats, those are still very strong numbers.
3. Mikel Arteta
Arsenal
- Position: Central midfielder
- Notable teams: Barcelona, Rangers, Everton, Arsenal
Mikel Arteta the player will be remembered as perhaps one of the most under-appreciated midfielders in the league at his time – outside of the clubs he represented. The Spaniard was a massive player in his six-year spell at Everton, first joining on loan from Real Sociedad before making his move permanent. Five years with Arsenal towards the end of the career only furthered his praise, with the midfielder being one of the consistent performers in a time of relative struggle under Arsene Wenger.
2. Michael Carrick
Man Utd
- Position: Midfielder
- Notable teams: West Ham, Tottenham, Man Utd
Michael Carrick is one of the best midfielders to grace the Premier League. Like Arteta, though, he often went unappreciated. That’s because he was very much a no-frills defensive midfielder outside of his passing. And that’s not to count against him. Carrick is one of the best passers in Premier League history, both in terms of keeping things simple and producing defence-splitting balls from deep. He honed the abilities under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and was a key player in their Premier League dominance. Even Pep Guardiola called Carrick one of the best holding midfielders he’d ever seen. The only downside to Carrick’s career was the fact that he only made 34 appearances for England, having had to fight the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard for a midfield role. But at club level, Carrick won everything there was to win.
1. Pep Guardiola
Manchester City
- Position: Defensive midfielder
- Notable teams: Barcelona, Roma
As a player, Pep Guardiola was a playmaker from the base of midfield, a proto-Busquets if you will, and ran the Barcelona midfield for Johan Cruyff’s dynamic Dream Team. Guardiola, known as an extension of Cruyff on the field, helped deliver the club’s first-ever European Cup as well as winning La Liga an incredible four years on the bounce.
Even after Cruyff, Guardiola continued to excel – playing through the rest of the 90s where he also learned from Louis van Gaal. Guardiola won a Copa del Rey as well as two more Liga titles and the Uefa Cup Winner’s Cup after Cruyff. A proud Catalan, he also played 47 times for Spain – that would have been more but he fell out with Javier Clemente and missed Euro 96, then he missed the 1998 World Cup through injury.
After he left Barcelona he embarked on a tour of teams where he seemed to pick the destination purely to work with great coaches: Carlo Mazzone at Brescia, Fabio Capello at Roma, Juanma Lillo at Dorados.
Guardiola used his incredible reputation as a player to help prepare for his coaching career, and given he is the greatest coach in the world and has quite literally changed the way the game is played all across the world, that preparation has paid off handsomely.