Footballers with Most Clearances in the Premier League History

So, as much as goals are important, clearances could be important, too, because they actually make the goals scored by a team’s goalscorers count. What is the benefit of goals scored if they are cancelled out by the goals received on the other end?

In this post, we are to footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history. Which Premier League players have made the most number of successful clearances? - indeed, based on

Premier League player stats

. Or in other words, if we take a look at Premier League records - clearances records, indeed, which player will top the list of footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history?

A List of Footballers with Most Clearances in the Premier League History Based on Premier League Stats

Well, this is indeed a criterion to determine the best defender in the Premier League history, of course, to some extent, since other factors may come into play, too. However, clearances are still an important part of a defender’s job. Let’s see who has performed better in the Premier League history concerning this criterion.

Sylvain Distin (3167 Clearances)

Number one on the list of footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history - based on Premier League player stats, Sylvain Distin is a top retired French defender who played for the top Premier League clubs,

and Manchester City, sometime during his career. He actually served these two clubs more than any other club during his career; the former for six years between 2009 and 2015 and the latter for five years between 2002 and 2007. He also made the most number of his club appearances for these two clubs; something between 200 and 210 appearances.

Here we use another criterion, namely clearance-to-appearance ratio, which actually determines how many clearances a defender has made in each of his appearances averagely - indeed appearances that he has made within the Premier League. The more the better and for Sylvain Distin this ratio is 6.75 which comes from the 3167 clearances that he made in his 469 Premier League appearances. Distin was also a successful tackler with 77% of his tackles being successful, though he received 38 yellow cards and one second yellow card leading to a red card in all these tackles which compared to the number of tackles (614) and appearances (469) he made within Premier League is not high at all meaning that he was not an aggressive defender.

Distin was a tall defender - he was and is 1.92m, so no wonder that around one third of his clearances - actually 1037 - were headed clearances. He also made 6 clearances off the line during his career in the Premier League and was not without errors, either: He actually made 5 errors leading to a goal and also scored an own goal once. And straight goals? He actually scored 7 of them in all his appearances in the Premier League.

Phil Jagielka (3000 Clearances)

A defender - actually center back - from Derby County, Phil Jagielka, occupies the second position on the list of

footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history

with 3000 clearances up to this date (November 2021). Although he’s still in the business, though almost at the end of it - he’s 39 years old, he cannot improve this record since Derby County is not currently competing in the Premier League and that means the rest of clearances he make in the remaining time up to the end of his career won’t add to this record - there’s almost no chance he gets back to Premier League as an active player, you know.

Well, let’s see how Jagielka’s records are with the Premier League. Jagielka’s defending records are very much like Sylvain Distin: 76% of his tackles within Premier League were a success, one third of his clearances (exactly 1089) were headed clearances despite his shorter stature compared to Distin - he’s 180cm tall - and he made 6 errors leading to a goal, however, he had more own goals (7) and also more clearances off the line (10) than Distin during his playtime in the Premier League. He also scored more than twice as much as goals Distin scored: 18 vs 7.

Yet the biggest difference between these two players is that Distin registered his records in 469 appearances while

did it in 376 which means he probably gets a higher clearance-to-appearance ratio as it is really so. His clearance-to-appearance ratio is almost 8 (exactly 7.97) which is at least one clearance more than Distin’s average (6.75). Jagielka is mostly known as an Everton player since he served the Premier League club more than any other club during his career - actually for 12 years - and earned almost all his footballing honors with this club.

Gary Cahill (2935 Clearances)

Having been serving the current Premier League club,

, since 2021, Gary Cahill has made a total of 2935 clearances within the English major league and since he’s still in the business and may remain in it for around 4 more years, he could probably improve his defensive records and even replace Phil Jagielka on the list of footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history since he’s only 65 clearances behind Jagielka which he could probably cover in the coming years.

Just like Jagielka, Cahill has also served within the Premier League for the most of his career. The club he has served the most is Chelsea for whom he played between 2012 and 2019. And his defensive records do not deviate much from those of Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka: 75% of all Cahill’s tackles within the Premier League have been a success to this date, and more than one third of his clearances (1203) have been headed clearances. He has also made 10 off-the-line clearances, has made 8 errors leading to a goal, and has scored 2 own goals.

However, the number of goals Cahill has scored within Premier League are in front of both Jagielka and Distin Premier League goals by quite a tangible margin: 28 vs 18 and 7, respectively, though his clearance-to-appearance ratio is not. He has made 2935 clearances in 394 appearances up to this date which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 7.44 which is very near to that of Phil Jagielka. As we mentioned above, Cahill has still time to improve his defensive records and get the better of Phil Jagielka and maybe even more: Topping the list of footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history.

Ryan Shawcross (2752 Clearances)

Well, taking a look at

Premier League records

- we mean defensive records, the next player which has had the most number of clearances within Premier League after Gary Cahill is Ryan Shawcross with 2752 clearances made within the English major league. The probability that Shawcross improves his position on the list of footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history is very low since he’s almost at the end of his career with his defensive skills deteriorating which makes his return to Premier League almost not probable at all.

Like many footballers have already done at the end of their careers, Shawcross has also followed the fashion of joining American teams and has joined the MLS club,

, since 2021 - that actually fixes his records with the Premier League. Well, let’s see how Shawcross’ records are with the Premier League. The 34-year-old English center back made a total of 2752 clearances in 317 appearances within the Premier League which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 8.6 which is higher than the footballers in front of him on the list of footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history.

Almost half of the clearances Shawcross made within Premier League (1225) were headed clearances. He also made 7 off-the-line clearances and 6 errors leading to goal plus that he also scored 6 own goals - that is also higher than other footballers in front of him on the list - while in the Premier League. 58 yellow cards and 5 red cards; that is also the record of his cards in the Premier League which again is higher than the cards records of three other footballers in front of him on the list. Shawcross also scored 14 goals during his playtime at Premier League. Although he served Manchester City for two years at the start of his career, he’s mostly known as a Stoke City player since he served the club for the majority of his career; actually 13 years between 2008 and 2021.

James Collins (2545 Clearances)

A product of Cardiff City who also served the Championship club for three years at the start of his career, James Collins is a 38-year-old Welsh footballer - actually center back - who’s been serving the lower-tier club, Ipswich Town, since 2019. Collins made all his 2545 Premier League clearances in 279 appearances which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 9.12; the highest ratio up to this point on the list of

footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history

.

Collins’ defensive records are somewhat like the other defenders in front of him on the list - based on Premier League stats: From among all the 2545 clearances Collins made in the Premier League 1064 were headed clearances. He also made 7 off-the-line clearances but also made 5 errors leading to a goal and scored 2 own goals, too. The number of his straight goals within Premier League is 11 which is somewhat the average of the goals scored by other players in front of him on the list.

And another of his Premier League records? Ja! His yellow and red cards. He received 51 yellow cards and 2 red cards which is only lower than Ryan Shawcross up to this point on the list and means that he was also somehow an aggressive defender, too.

Brede Hangeland (2387 Clearances)

Having served only two English clubs, namely Fulham and

, when actually they competed in the Premier League, Brede Hangeland is a 40-year-old retired Norwegian footballer who, as you see, has managed to finish among the first 10 footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history. Hangeland made 2387 clearances in 238 appearances while in the Premier League which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 10.02; the highest up to this point on the list.

The interesting fact about Hangeland is that although he’s the tallest footballer at least among the first 10 footballers on the list - he’s 195cm, he made less than 1000 headed clearances which is even lower than some of the players on the list who are shorter than him. From among all the 2387 clearances Hangeland made within Premier Leauge, only 912 were headed clearances, however, concerning the number of off-the-line clearances, errors leading to a goal, and own goals he has registered better records than the players in front of him on the list: 9 off-the-line clearances, 2 errors leading to a goal, and 2 own goals - based on his Premier League records.

He also scored 10 straight goals and received only 24 yellow cards and one red card which is low compared to other players on the list and means that he was not an aggressive defender during his playtime at least in the Premier League.

Michael Dawson (2356 Clearances)

He’s currently serving the club he’s a product of and also served in two time periods, one at the start and another one at the end of his career - from 2018 to 2021: Nottingham Forest. You may think that probably Nottingham Forest is the club Dawson served the most during his career, but that’s not so. He actually served the Premier League club,

, more than any other club during his career; actually for 9 years between 2005 and 2014. He also served Hull City for 4 years between 2014 and 2018 in two of which they competed in the Premier League. So his clearances record you see above belongs to the time he served Tottenham and Hull City.

Well, as you see, Dawson made a total of 2356 clearances within Premier League and in 286 appearances which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 8.23. From among all these 2356 clearances 860 were headed clearances. He also made 8 off-the-line clearances and 3 errors leading to a goal and scored 2 own goals while in the Premier League. The number of straight goals he scored are 11 and he also received 51 yellow cards and 3 red cards during his time in the Premier League.

Robert Huth (2351 Clearances)

Only 5 clearances behind Michael Dawson according to Premier League player stats, Robert Huth is a 37-year-old retired German footballer who served only within Premier during his career. He served 4 clubs within the English major league, namely Chelsea,

, Stoke City, and Leicester City, from 2002 to 2018, and if he could make just 6 more clearances during this time, he could have replaced Michael Dawson and sit on the 7th place on the list of footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history.

Huth made all his 2351 clearances in 322 appearances which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 7.30; somehow an average among the first ten footballers on the list, and from among all his 2351 clearances 839 - a little more than one third of all his clearances - were headed clearances. He also made one off-the-line clearance during his career, made 5 errors leading to a goal and scored 2 own goals, however, concerning his straight goals, he’s one of the best among the first ten footballers on the list of

footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history

with 21 straight goals.

If we take the number of yellow cards Huth received during his time in the Premier League into consideration, he’s only behind Richard Dunne with 68 yellow cards, however, the rate of his successful tackles (78%) is also the highest on the list which means although he was kind of aggressive, he was also effective. Huth also received 2 red cards during his playtime in the Premier League.

Richard Dunne (2279 Clearances)

The 42-year-old retired Irish footballer, Richard Dunne, served three Premier League clubs, namely

, Manchester City, and Aston Villa, during his career and made a total of 2279 clearances in 431 appearances for these clubs which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 5.2; actually the lowest among the first 10 footballers with most clearances in the Premier League history.

Dunne has also the lowest number of headed clearances (653) among the first 10 footballers on the list, and to your surprise, he scored enough own goals to top the list of

: 10! However, he’s also one of the three footballers on the list to have the most number of off-the-line clearances, too, with 10 off-the-line clearances. The number of yellow and red cards he received during his playtime in the Premier League is also a record among the first 10 footballers on the list: 74 yellow cards and 8 red cards. He’s either among the best or the worst, no middle line!

Nemanja Vidic (2232 Clearances)

Only served one Premier League club, namely

, but for a major part of his career: 8 years between 2006 and 2014. This is as he played for the three other clubs he served during his career at most for 3 years. Nemanja Vidic made all his 2232 clearances within Premier League, or better said for Manchester United, since it was the only Premier League club he served during his career, in 211 appearances which gets him a clearance-to-appearance ratio of 10.57.

75% of all the tackles Vidic made within the Premier League were successful and from all his 2232 clearances 808 - a little more than one third - were headed clearances. Vidic also made 4 off-the-line clearances, and 3 errors leading to a goal plus that he also scored one own goal during his playtime at the Premier League. And the number of yellow and red cards he received? Well, that is 39 and 6, respectively. He also scored 15 straight goals within Premier League 12 of which were headed. Vidic is actually the highest decorated footballer on the list - at least among the first ten - with a number of individual and club trophies and honors to his name. He’s the only footballer on the list to have won the most number of club trophies within Premier League - actually 15 with Manchester United - among which are 5 Premier League titles between 2006 and 2013.

The Rest of the List of Footballers with Most Clearances in the Premier League History

Well, the list continues with footballers who follow with less clearances than those of the footballers already mentioned in this post. Some of these footballers, like Jonny Evans and John Terry, are still playing within Premier League, so, they will surely increase the number of their Premier League clearances which we will surely update you with.

Based on

Premier League stats

- clearances stats we mean, here are the next ten footballers on the list. Please note that by ratio below we mean clearance-to-appearance ratio.

• Ashley Williams, Clearances: 2132, Apps: 241, Ratio: 8.8, Ntl: Welsh

• Joleon Lescott, Clearances: 2091, Apps: 288, Ratio: 7.26, Ntl: English

• James Tomkins, Clearances: 2072, Apps: 272, Ratio: 7.61, Ntl: English

• Aaron Hughes, Clearances: 2004, Apps: 455, Ratio: 4.40, Ntl: Irish

• Jonny Evans, Clearances: 1959, Apps: 330, Ratio: 5.9, Ntl: Irish

• Martin Skrtel, Clearances: 1940, Apps: 242, Ratio: 8.01, Ntl: Slovak

• Christopher Samba, Clearances: 1872, Apps: 171, Ratio: 10.9, Ntl: Congolese

• John Terry, Clearances: 1852, Apps: 492, Ratio: 3.76, Ntl: English

• Titus Bramble, Clearances: 1763, Apps: 292, Ratio: 6.03, Ntl: English

• Ryan Nelsen, Clearances: 1757, Apps: 198, Ratio: 8.87, Ntl: New Zealander

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