Kieran Trippier To Become The 20th Englishman To Play In La Liga

Atletico Madrid announced the signing of full-back Kieran Trippier earlier this week in a reported £21 million deal.

The 28-year-old, who made 114 appearances for Tottenham, will become the 20th Englishman to play in La Liga after signing a three year contract with Diego Simeone's side.

Trippier follows the likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, Jonathan Woodgate and Laurie Cunningham to the Spanish capital.

Beckham, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2003, has recorded the most appearances in La Liga with 116 games to his name.

Gary Lineker is just behind after playing 103 times for Barcelona during a three year spell at the Catalan club.

Image: PA

Former Los Blancos midfielder Steve McManaman isn't far behind either with 94 appearances, while some names on the list may jump out as a shock.

Jermaine Pennant made 25 appearances for Real Zaragoza in the 2009/10 season.

While former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore played three times for Real Oviedo towards the end of his career.

Image: PA

Manchester City midfielder Patrick Roberts, another more recent name, also features after spending last season at relegated Girona.

Here is the list in full via AS.

Image: AS

Image: AS

A number of the above enjoyed relative success in La Liga, but one player who struggled with injuries, among other things, was defender Jonathan Woodgate.

It was revealed back in 2016 that Real Madrid's medical staff went to extreme and bizarre lengths to get him fit again.

"Signing there injured was a nightmare. All you want to do is go out on the pitch, impress them and try and make the team better and I couldn't." he told Goals On Sunday.

"I was rushing my injury I think I did it twice when I was there and finally I had an operation on it.

Jonathan Woodgate

"I was trying everything. There was a time when this doctor came over and started getting all this grass and putting it on my leg. He looked like Captain Birdseye, and I'm looking at him and thinking to myself, 'what am I doing?'

"We were in the physio's house at the time and he started boiling this pan and putting grass in it and I was thinking: 'Is that for me? What are we going to do with this grass?'

"You'll do anything and try anything [to get fit]. I had botox in my thigh to try and stop one of the muscles from firing. Weird."

Topics: Football News, Football, Kieran Trippier, Spain, La Liga

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_