The greatest ever British players to play abroad

England has always been one of football's most attractive destinations, particularly in the Premier League era.

But while plenty of foreign stars have made a home on these shores, numerous British-born players have headed the other way. 

Here are the best of them, ranked only by their contributions overseas.

34. Jimmy Greaves

Greaves was never really keen on a move to Italy, but despite his protestations Chelsea sold him to AC Milan in 1961.

After falling out with manager Nereo Rocco, the striker only lasted only a few months at San Siro. But he still managed nine goals in 10 Serie A games as Milan won the title.

33. Denis Law

A Manchester United legend, Law also had two spells at Manchester City. Less well remembered is a single-season stint at Torino in 1961/62.

The Scottish forward did not particularly enjoy his time in Italy, where ultra-defensive tactics predominated. Yet he still scored 10 goals for Torino and was voted Serie A’s best foreign player that campaign.

32. Michael Owen

Real Madrid added another galactico to their collection in 2004, signing Owen from Liverpool for £8m. He didn’t last long in Spain, though, returning to the Premier League a year later after Madrid signed Robinho.

But Owen still performed pretty well in La Liga, scoring 13 goals and appearing in all but two of Madrid’s matches.

31. Trevor Steven

Steven joined Rangers in 1989 and retired at Ibrox in 1997, but in between he spent a single campaign at Marseille.

Joining a side which contained the likes of Jean Pierre Papin, Abedi Pele, Dragan Stojkovic, Didier Deschamps and Chris Waddle, Steven helped OM win the Ligue 1 title before returning to Glasgow.

30. Bradley Wright-Phillips

After spells in League One and the Championship, Wright-Phillips took the plunge and joined New York Red Bulls in 2013.

By the time he retired in 2021 the striker had scored 117 goals in MLS (including eight for LAFC and one for Columbus Crew), making him one of the leading goal-getters in the league’s history.

29. Tammy Abraham

Roma exchanged £34m for the services of Abraham in the summer of 2021. The former Chelsea striker notched 27 goals in all competitions in his maiden campaign, helping the Giallorossi win the Europa Conference League.

His second season was less productive, but Abraham made 14 appearances as Roma reached the Europa League final, which they lost to Sevilla.

28. Ashley Young

Inter bought Young midway in January 2020. He quickly became a regular under Antonio Conte, who employed the former Manchester United man at wing-back.

Inter were runners-up to Villarreal in the Europa League that season, but Young’s only full campaign at San Siro saw him crowned a Serie A champion.

27. Chris Smalling

After falling out of favour at Manchester United, Smalling bit the bullet and penned a deal with Roma in 2019. Initially signed on loan, the move became permanent the following year.

Smalling revived his career at the Stadio Olimpico and was an integral part of the team that won the Europa Conference League under Jose Mourinho, his old United boss.

26. Ray Wilkins

Wilkins joined AC Milan from Manchester United in 1984. This was not the club’s finest era, but the midfielder helped to reestablish the Rossoneri as part of the Serie A elite following relegation in 1982. Wilkins later had a brief stint at PSG.

“You were special, a gentleman on and off the pitch,” said Franco Baresi after Wilkins’ 2018 death.

25. Paul Gascoigne

“I'm very pleased for Paul but it's like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new car,” said Terry Venables when Gazza signed for Lazio.

In truth his time in Serie A was mixed, but Gascoigne showed flashes of his remarkable quality and was wholeheartedly embraced by the Lazio fans.

24. Steve Archibald

Signed by Barcelona in 1984, Archibald was essential as the club ended an 11-year La Liga title drought in his first season in Catalonia.

Archibald remained on the books at the Camp Nou for another four years, but he fell out of favour latterly. The Scot later played 15 league games for Espanyol, Barcelona’s city rivals.

23. Fikayo Tomori

A Chelsea academy graduate, Tomori decided to move overseas in search of regular game time. In 2021 he joined AC Milan in a move that disappointed many Blues fans.

Tomori quickly became a starter for the Rossoneri, a club that knows a good defender when it sees one. The centre-back helped Milan win Serie A in his first full season.

22. Mark Hateley

AC Milan paid £1m to acquire Hateley in 1984. The striker scored 21 goals in three seasons at San Siro, but Milan did not win a single trophy in that time.

Arsene Wenger brought Hateley to Monaco in 1987 and the frontman was essential to the club’s Ligue 1 title triumph in his first season. 

21. Tony Woodcock

Woodcock impressed German side Koln when they faced his Nottingham Forest team in the 1978/79 European Cup. The Billy Goats promptly signed the striker at the end of that campaign.

Woodcock had two spells with the club, scoring 39 goals in 130 Bundesliga appearances. He ended his career with Fortuna Koln, a smaller side in the same city.

20. Gerry Hitchens

A seven-time England international, Hitchens was prolific during his time with Aston Villa between 1957 and 1961. The striker then signed for Inter, going on to average just less than a goal every other game at San Siro.

Hitchens moved to Torino in 1962, before later spells with Atalanta and Cagliari. 

19. Paul Ince

Bombed out of Manchester United by Alex Ferguson, Ince signed for Inter in 1995.

The team struggled in his debut season but the self-styled midfield Guvnor performed well, and was even better in 1996/97 as the Nerazzurri reached the UEFA Cup final, but lost a penalty shootout to Schalke. 

18. Graeme Souness

Sampdoria snapped up Souness from Liverpool in 1984. In his first season the club had their best season in over two decades, finishing fourth in Serie A and winning the Coppa Italia.

Sampdoria only narrowly avoided relegation the following year, but Souness remained a consistent performer. “I found the football easy,” he said later.

17. John Collins

After 11 seasons in his native Scotland, Collins secured a switch to Monaco in 1996. The midfielder helped the principality club to win the Ligue 1 title in his debut season, as Monaco finished 12 points clear of PSG.

Playing alongside Fabien Barthez, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet, Collins reached the semi-finals of the Champions League the following year.

16. Kieran Trippier

Trippier left Tottenham for Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019, just weeks after losing the Champions League final to Liverpool.

The right-back was a success in La Liga, instantly becoming a regular starter under Diego Simeone. Atletico won the title in Trippier’s second season in the Spanish capital, a few months after which he returned to England with Newcastle.

15. Jadon Sancho

Academy starlet Sancho left Manchester City before making a first-team appearance, upping sticks for Borussia Dortmund, where he became one of Europe’s hottest football properties. 

Sancho delivered 50 goals and 58 assists for BVB, including a brace against RB Leipzig in a victorious 2021 DFB-Pokal final.

14. Trevor Francis

Sampdoria spent £700,000 to sign Francis from Manchester City in 1982. The forward won the Coppa Italia in 1985 and later spent a season at Atalanta.

"We thought English strikers were not very mobile but he came and showed us we were very wrong,” said former Sampdoria team-mate Gianluca Vialli. “Trevor was my inspiration."

13. Laurie Cunningham

One-third of West Brom’s ‘Three Degrees’, Cunningham became Real Madrid’s first ever British player in 1979. He won a La Liga title and two Copas del Rey with the Blancos, who fell just short in the 1981 European Cup final.

Cunningham also played for Sporting Gijon, Marseille, Rayo Vallecano (twice) and Belgian side Charleroi during his time outside England.

12. Paul Lambert

Lambert was a surprise pick-up for Borussia Dortmund in 1996 following a three-year spell with Motherwell. The Scot’s time at Signal Iduna Park was short but oh so sweet.

Lambert played 43 games in his only full season with the club, which ended with Dortmund hoisting the Champions League trophy aloft.

11. David Beckham

Beckham called time on his Manchester United career in 2003. Real Madrid welcomed him to the Bernabeu, where the England international won the La Liga title in his final season of 2006/07.

Beckham then became the biggest star in MLS with LA Galaxy, before two loan spells with AC Milan and one with PSG.

10. David Platt

Platt only spent four years in Italy, but he represented three clubs in that time. The midfielder was a rare bright spot in Bari’s relegation campaign of 1991/92, earning himself a move to Juventus.

Platt won the UEFA Cup with the Bianconeri, before a switch to Sampdoria. Two seasons there brought a Coppa Italia and more accolades.

9. Owen Hargreaves

Born in Canada, Hargreaves did not start playing football seriously until he was 15. A year later he was snapped up by Bayern Munich, and by the time he was 19 he was playing for the German giants’ first team.

Hargreaves racked up 218 appearances for Bayern, winning four Bundesliga titles and the 2001 Champions League.

8. Jude Bellingham

Despite interest from several Premier League clubs, Bellingham swapped Birmingham for Borussia Dortmund in 2020.

In three years at Signal Iduna Park, the dynamic midfielder established himself as one of the best players in the world. In 2023 he joined Real Madrid and immediately looked at home at the Bernabeu.

7. Glenn Hoddle

One of the most talented English players of all time, Hoddle was never completely appreciated in his homeland. That was one of the motivations behind his move to Monaco in 1987.

Hoddle starred as Monaco won the Ligue 1 title in his very first season. He scored 30 goals in 87 games before returning to England in 1990.

6. Gary Lineker

After winning the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup, Lineker joined Terry Venables’ Barcelona from Everton for £2.8m.

The England international scored 52 goals in three seasons at the Camp Nou, where he won the Copa del Rey and the Cup Winners’ Cup. Lineker later played for Japanese outfit Nagoya Grampus.

5. Steve McManaman

Known as the “versatile Englishman” in Spain’s capital, McMananman played a number of different roles during a successful four-year spell with Real Madrid.

“He was exemplary ... a fantastic player in every sense,” said Vicente del Bosque of a man who won two La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues at the Bernabeu.

4. Chris Waddle

More than three decades on from his departure, Waddle still doesn’t have to buy a drink in Marseille. A real fans’ favourite at OM, the tricky winger won three Ligue 1 titles and reached a European Cup final.

In 1998, Waddle was voted the second-best player in Marseille’s history behind Jean Pierre Papin, a former team-mate.

3. Kevin Keegan

In 1977 Keegan left European champions Liverpool for Hamburg, who had not won the Bundesliga since its 1963 inception.

Two years later die Rothosen were champions of Germany for the first time in 19 years. Mighty Mouse also led his side to the 1980 European Cup Final and twice won the Ballon d’Or there.

2. Gareth Bale

Real Madrid paid a world-record fee of £85.1m to land Bale in 2013. He had problems with a section of the fan base and the local media throughout his time in Spain, but the Welshman’s achievements speak for themselves.

Bale played 258 games, scored 106 goals, and won 15 major trophies - including five Champions Leagues.

1. John Charles

Juventus paid a then-British record fee of £65,000 to sign Charles from Leeds in 1957. The Welshman was worth every shilling.

Charles, who could play at centre-forward or centre-back, scored 105 goals in 179 outings for the Old Lady, winning three Serie A titles and two Coppas Italia. He later had a brief stint at Roma.