The first foreign footballer to play for an English club was Leipzig-born Max Seeburg, who joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1908.
84 years on, the Premier League was born and there were still only 13 foreign players in the top flight of English football including the likes of Eric Cantona and Peter Schmeichel.
Fast forward today and so many different countries are represented in the Premier League, with players from all around the globe joining arguably the best league in the world.
Each line-up is packed with diversity, with Brentford becoming the club with the most foreign players in the top flight following their promotion last season.
Unsurprisingly, the number of English players is significantly more than others, but how many other nationalities are represented?
We take a look at the list of the most represented nationalities in the Premier League, from least to most...
1. Ivory Coast - 8
Wilfred Zaha opted to switch allegiances from England to Ivory Coast in 2016 and has made 26 appearances since.
2. Argentina - 8
Argentinians in the Premier League include Emi Martinez (Aston Villa), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton) and Cristian Romero (Tottenham).
3. Nigeria - 9
A number of Nigerians in the Premier League chose to change nationalities to represent the Super Eagles including Alex Iwobi (Everton), Ademola Lookman (Leicester) and William Troost-Ekong (Watford).
4. Kai Havertz - 10
Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea), Ilkay Gundogan (Man City), Kai Havertz (Chelsea) and Vitaly Janelt (Brentford) have all enjoyed successful Premier League campaigns.