10 Laziest Players in Premier League History [Ranked]

Summary

• Despite their undoubted quality, not all Premier League players put in every ounce of effort.

• Ten lazy players include Hazard, Ozil, and Tevez are known for their lack of effort on and off the pitch.

• A clever approach to the game helped players like Berbatov shine despite their reputation for laziness.

Hard work beats talent - a statement which rings true about a footballer's rise to the top. But to say that all Premier League players put every ounce of effort in would be quite farfetched considering some of the best stars of English football were well renowned for being lazy.

Whether it's not bothering to track back in a game, or having a flippant attitude to training, there have been a few particular troublemakers that have voiced their hatred for running in football matches. Surprisingly, even the biggest wage cheque couldn't push them to try harder.

An effortless play style hasn't always been a bad thing though, with certain players thriving off their unique and controversial characters. From Arsenal's Mesut Ozil to Chelsea's Eden Hazard, we whittled down the ten laziest players to step foot in the Premier League.

Ranking factors

• Effort - how much they decided to try on the football pitch

• Training - whether they bothered to put effort into warmups

• Feedback - the words of their own managers and teammates about their laziness

10 Emmanuel Adebayor

Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and Crystal Palace

If you take a generalised look at Emmanuel Adebayor's career, you'd say he boasted a decent goalscoring record for some of the biggest clubs in British football history. There's no doubting he was a good striker on his day, but fans began to pick up on his lack of effort during games.

As a 6ft 3' forward, Adebayor felt his job was to just cause a nuisance upfront by winning aerial duel after aerial duel. Both Roberto Mancini and Harry Redknapp started to get frustrated by his half-hearted approach to football, dropping him to the bench on numerous occasions.

9 Adel Taarabt

Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham and Fulham

Adel Taarabt was a player who got fans out of their seats with his slick feet and bags of tricks. A Taarabt compilation looks amazing on the eye, but deep down, he wasn't the most complete of footballers and will be remembered for his wasted potential. He first arrived in the Premier League at Tottenham, where he failed to hit the ground running following a promising move from RC Lens.

However, a move to Queens Park Rangers later on in the Moroccan's career gave him the keys to excel - and excel he did. Loftus Park was treated to moments of magic, but they also felt the full brunt of Taarabt's refusal to track back and press. Harry Redknapp, who couldn't seem to escape these footballing slackers, slammed the midfielder for being too fat during his time in West London.

He said:

"He [Adel Taarabt] played in a reserve game the other day and I could have run about more than he did. I can't protect people who don't want to run and train, and are about three stone overweight."

8 Carlos Tevez

Manchester City, Manchester United and West Ham

In the grand scheme of things, Carlos Tevez wasn't the laziest footballer out there. However, when he became disgruntled or upset, his childish demeanour shone through. His talent was evident, and no lethargic footballer earns big moves to Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus.

It was training sessions that let the Argentinian striker down. He was said to be a completely different character on and off the pitch. During games, he would show grit and determination, but when those cones were lined out on the pitch for training, he wanted none of it. Former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand revealed Tevez's tendency to go missing when the players were asked to warm up.

He said:

"Carlos in an interesting character. When he was at United, he saved all his energy for the games - he didn't really go over the top at training."

7 Marko Arnautovic

Stoke City and West Ham

Once dubbed 'the worst player in Europe', Marko Arnautovic started to make a name for himself during his time at Stoke City. He became a reliable forward for the Potters, who were regularly fighting for survival at the bottom of the Premier League.

But, yet again, his pool of talent was overshadowed by his reluctance to work hard. Mark Hughes and David Moyes both had issues with the Austrian's demeanour on the pitch, with his later move to Chinese club, Shanghai Port FC, showing he didn't have the greatest amount of passion for the English game.

6 David Ginola

Newcastle United, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton

Running was not David Ginola's best friend. The idea of tracking back and helping his team seemed foreign to the Frenchman, who had successful spells at Newcastle United and Tottenham. Although he won the PFA Player of the Year award in North London, teammates still remained critical of his lack of work off the ball.

His sheer talent overrode any need for criticism surrounding his laziness - but a move to Aston Villa changed that. Manager John Gregory publicly shamed Ginola by calling him 'Mr. Blobby', which sparked a debate about the winger's lack of fitness and genuine passion to play in the Premier League.

5 Nwankwo Kanu

Arsenal, Portsmouth and West Brom

As part of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' squad, it seems harsh to label Nwankwo Kanu as a player who lacked any real fight on the football pitch. There was a reason behind Arsene Wenger's decision to use Kanu as merely a squad player however, and supporters started to realise his lackadaisical playstyle was to the team's detriment.

Kanu became a stroller rather than a sprinter, a choice which led to failed moves to both West Brom and Portsmouth. His 6ft 6' stature also made it difficult for supporters to criticise his leisurely character, with his hold-up play being a key component of his game.

4 Mesut Ozil

Arsenal

Following Arsenal's club-record move for Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Özil, Gunners fans were seen jumping up and down outside the Emirates on Sky Sports. The German treated supporters to some impressive performances and ranked third for most assists in a single Premier League season with 19, behind only Kevin de Bruyne and Thierry Henry.

Ozil never had the greatest body language, often slumping around the field instead of looking at least somewhat energetic. As Arsenal's performance started to take a turn for the worse, fans started to get on their starman's back and questioned his enthusiasm on the pitch. Gary Neville exposed Ozil's playstyle in the 2018 Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, criticising him for giving zero effort.

He said:

"Ozil is walking. Don't walk. Don't walk at Wembley. Run."

3 Eden Hazard

Chelsea

Eden Hazard is without a doubt one of the best wingers in Premier League history. The way he would run at the opposition and panic defenders, all while keeping the ball attached to his feet, was something supporters were rarely used to seeing.

However, along with his talent became the dreaded characteristic of apathy. It seemed like his weird secret to being Man of the Match week in, week out was to be an awful trainer. His Chelsea teammate, John Obi-Mikel, gave an honest review of the Belgian and revealed that he had never seen a football player like Hazard on the training pitch:

"The only player I saw that did that and got away with it was Eden Hazard. The laziest footballer I have ever seen in my life. But then, come the weekend, he would produce it and be Man of the Match."

2 Mario Balotelli

Manchester City and Liverpool

'Why always me?'. Mario Balotelli had arrogance you had to sit back and admire. It was weird that someone with that much confidence had such a flippant outlook on football. He didn't really treat it like a job, something you probably should do earning £120,000 a week.

Balotelli would showboat when he wanted, shoot when he wanted and pass when he wanted - it was all up to him. His laziness was personified in a pre-season game against LA Galaxy under Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini. When one-on-one with the keeper, the Italian tried the most outrageous backheel attempt and the ball trickled wide of the post. Mancini was furious, forcing the striker off the field after just 30 minutes.

1 Dimitar Berbatov

Manchester United, Tottenham and Fulham

Dimitar Berbatov was an effortless footballer, possessing the kind of swagger many lack in the modern game. It was no secret that the Bulgarian didn't like to work hard, and his time as a striker rarely involved any running or pressing. That isn't to say he wasn't putting up the numbers for his clubs though, with Berbatov scoring 94 goals in 299 Premier League games.

When he was scoring outrageous goals and providing incredible link-up play for his teammates, supporters found it hard to look down on his laziness and began to accept it. Berbatov denied any accusations that he never tried hard and pointed out that his lack of hard work was indeed clever.

He said:

"If you were to put it into order of the players who would run in my Tottenham team I would say Jermaine [Defoe], [Robbie] Keane and then probably everybody else - with me behind. But I was running in my head."