Robert Huth (, ; born 18 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is a three-time Premier League winner and has made the most Premier League appearances (322) by a German player. Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club 1. FC Union Berlin in 2001 by Claudio Ranieri. He struggled to establish himself in the Chelsea first team and with the likes of John Terry, William Gallas and Ricardo Carvalho ahead of him in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, he joined Middlesbrough in August 2006 for a fee of £6 million. He spent three years at the Riverside and after the club was relegated in 2009, Huth signed for Stoke City for a then-club record fee of £5 million. After a successful 2010–11 season for Huth which saw him play in the FA Cup Final, he was named as Stoke's Player of the Year. Under the management of Tony Pulis, Huth remained a vital member of the Stoke squad in 2011–12 and 2012–13. He also played regularly under Mark Hughes in 2013–14 before he suffered a knee injury which ruled him out nearly a year. He was unable to force his way back into the team and he joined Leicester on loan in February 2015, helping them avoid relegation from the top flight. Huth then joined Leicester permanently, helping them to win the Premier League title in 2016. Huth was also a German international, earning 19 caps and scoring two goals between 2004 and 2009. He was part of the German squads which came third at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, both on home soil. Club career Chelsea Huth was born in Biesdorf, East Berlin, and played for local side VfB Fortuna Biesdorf and then the youth teams at 1. FC Union Berlin before joining English side Chelsea in 2001. Huth made his debut for Chelsea at the age of 17 in the last game of the 2001–02 season, coming on as a substitute at half-time for Jesper Grønkjær in a 1–3 home defeat against Aston Villa. In August 2003, Reading tried to sign Huth on loan for the 2003–04 season, but their bid was rejected by Chelsea. He made 20 appearances during that season, stating he was happy to stay at Chelsea. In the 2004–05 season, injuries restricted him to