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It is something that we have rarely seen in recent years, England players plying their trade outside of the country. Of the England World Cup squad, every single one of those players came from the Premier League, and they were the only team whose squad came entirely from their own country.
There is a chance that this has impacted negatively on England’s performance at major tournaments. The World Cup in Russia was a relative success, as England reached the semi-finals. This was their best World Cup performance since 1990, and their best at a major tournament since the European Championships in 1996.
England have often struggled to adapt to dealing with the different styles of football played by their opposition at major tournaments. We saw when they played Croatia, England didn’t have any ideas in the second half, and it was part of their downfall in that semi-final.
There are a couple of young English players playing abroad at the moment, but it doesn’t really look like a trend. Jadon Sancho left Manchester City to sign for Borussia Dortmund last summer, while this year, Ronaldo Vieira joined Sampdoria from Leeds United. Ademola Lookman spent the second half of last season on loan with RB Leipzig but failed to complete a permanent move to Germany this summer.
However, we have seen a number of English players playing abroad in the past. Here are five of the greatest players who have left England to play elsewhere in Europe.
#1 David Beckham
Golden Balls was one of the last high profile names to move abroad in search of greater success. Beckham spent the first part of his career with Manchester United, before leaving the Red Devils to join Real Madrid in 2003 in a deal worth £34 million. While with Real, he played alongside some of the greatest players in the world, such as Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo. He won only one major trophy though, the 2006/07 LaLiga title.
At the end of that season, he moved to LA Galaxy in the USA, and in doing so became the first big-name player to play in the MLS. During his five years in the States, he won two MLS Cups, and spent two loan spells with AC Milan. He finished his career by spending six months with PSG, during his wages were all given to charity. He continues to have an impact on US football now, with his new side, Inter Miami, set to join the MLS in 2020.
#2 Michael Owen
Many younger fans remember Owen as someone whose career slowed down in its final years, but he was one of the finest players that England have produced in recent years. He burst on to the scene in the 1998 World Cup, scoring a brilliant goal against Argentina. He was excellent for Liverpool in his time there, scoring 118 Premier League goals in 216 games. This was enough to persuade Real Madrid to bring him to the Bernabeu in 2004, with Antonio Nunez moving in the opposite direction, along with £8 million.
It wasn’t a successful spell though for Owen, who struggled to make an impact early on in his time in Spain and spend a lot of time on the bench. He did score Real’s fourth goal in a 4-2 El Clasico victory over Barcelona in April 2005, but it didn’t get any better than that. Following the signings of Robinho and Julio Baptista that summer, Owen returned to England with Newcastle United in a £17 million move. Following further spells with Manchester United and Stoke City, Owen retired in 2013.
#3 Paul Gascoigne
Despite his off-field problems in recent years, many remember Gascoigne as one of the greatest players England have produced since winning the World Cup in 1966. Gascoigne was a brilliant player, both for England and at club level. The midfielder impressed with Newcastle United and Tottenham in the early years of his career, and this earned him a move to Serie A side Lazio in 1992. The Italian side paid £5.5 million for his signature, which may not sound like too much, but was a huge fee back then.
He never really settled in Italy, mainly down to injuries and squabbles with the media, and appeared just 43 times in Serie A during his three years with Lazio. After three years abroad, he returned to Britain in 1995, joining Rangers, with whom he excelled in Scotland. He had further spells in England with Middlesbrough and Everton, before ending his career with very short stints at Burnley, Boston United, and Chinese side Gansu Tianma, none of whom he played more than ten games for.
#4 Chris Waddle
Waddle had an excellent career, both in England and abroad, but sadly his career will best be remembered for blazing over his penalty in the shootout in the semi-final defeat to West Germany at the 1990 World Cup. The winger appeared for Newcastle United and Tottenham in the 1980s, earning promotion from the Second Division with Newcastle, before moving to Tottenham in 1985, where he played 138 times in the old First Division.
He made the move to Marseille in 1989, who at the time were the dominant force in France. He spent three years with the club, winning the Division 1 title every season he was there. Waddle returned to England with Sheffield Wednesday in 1992, where he spent four years, however, was injured for the World Cup in 1994. That time with Wednesday was the end of his career at the top, and he spent short spells with Falkirk, Bradford City, Sunderland, Burnley and Torquay United before retiring in 1999.
#5 David Platt
Platt is another man on this list who is best remembered for a single moment in his international career. Like Waddle, this came in the 1990 World Cup. Platt’s came in the round of 16 against Belgium, where he scored a brilliant extra-time volley to send England through to the quarter finals. He was playing for Aston Villa at the time, who he joined after spending the early years of his career with Fourth Division Crewe Alexandra.
In 1991, he moved to Bari in the Serie A, with whom he spent one impressive season, scoring 11 goals in 29 games. That was enough to persuade Juventus to bring him to the club, and in his solitary season there, he was part of a UEFA Cup winning side. He didn’t have the best season personally, however, and moved on to Sampdoria in 1993. He had two good seasons with Sampdoria, scoring 17 league goals, and winning the Coppa Italia in 1994. After leaving Sampdoria, Waddle returned to England and played for Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, where he retired.
