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Football is a game that is truly global in nature. It's a game that transcends international boundaries. A game where boundaries of ethinicity, color, nationality, etc. cease to exist. A game that has the power to make a boy born into a poor family in the 'la villas' of Buenos Aires the king of Naples.
As the game has grown exponentially over the last few years, there are players who, at a tender age, moved across continents to make a career for themselves.
However, playing in a top-flight football league in your own home country in the colours of your childhood team must be the dream of any footballer. There are a lot of players who fulfill this dream, but there are also many who do not.
They are on the move at a very early age, they get an offer that is too good to be refused, or their home league does not provide them with the exposure and opportunity they desire. There are players who never get to play in their home country's league.
On that note, let's take a look at some famous players who are yet to play in their home country's top football league.
#5 Ivan Rakitic
Ivan Rakitic has had an illustrious career so far. While his former senior compatriot Luka Modric has always been in the limelight, one should not ignore Ivan Rakitic's importance and contribution to Croatian football.
The 34-year-old midfielder, born in Switzerland to Croatian parents, has never played in Croatia's top professional football league. He made a name for himself at FC Basel, which earned him a move to Schalke 04 in 2007.
He was there for four years before heading out to Sevilla, where he would really blossom into a world-class player.
Top performances at Sevilla earned him a move to Barcelona in 2014, where he helped the club win a treble in his first season. He won four La Liga titles, four Copa del Rey, and two Supercopa de Espana. He also won one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup, and a FIFA Club World Cup with the Catalans.
After a trophy-laden career at Barcelona, Rakitic resigned for Sevilla in 2020, where he still plys his trade.
#4 Marco Verratti
Marco Verratti, fondly called “Gufetto” (meaning owl) by the Italian fans, is currently one of the best midfielders in the world. The short Italian, who often draws comparisons to Andrea Pirlo, has never played in his country’s top league, i.e. Serie A.
Verratti began his career at Pescara in 2008, where he soon became a hot prospect and guided the team to the 2011-12 Serie B title and promotion to Italian top flight football. Verratti had become one of the most sought-after young players in Europe, and Paris Saint-Germain snapped him up in 2012.
The 29-year-old midfielder has since stayed at the Parisian club, winning a plethora of accolades.
He has eight Ligue 1 titles to his name and a number of domestic French cups. It is the ultimate European prize, the UEFA Champions League, that has still eluded him over the years.
Verratti won the UEFA Euro 2020 with the Italian national football team in 2021. It is really unfortunate that the European Champions have missed out on this year’s World Cup. Verrattii will be one of the biggest football stars not going to Qatar.
#3 Antoine Griezmann
Rejected by a number of French clubs in his youth days, Antoine Griezmann played a key role in winning France the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
Griezmann tried out for the youth academies of a number of big French football clubs, but was always rejected by them, with concerns over his size and physicality.
The Frenchman's luck changed in 2005, when he was playing a trial match for Montpellier against PSG's youth academy. He impressed Real Sociedad's scouts present there, and the rest is history.
Griezmann spent the next nine years at Sociedad, establishing himself as an important first-team player before moving to Atletico Madrid in 2014. He spent fruitful years at the Wanda Metropolitano, moulding himself into a world class player.
In 2019, he completed a controversial transfer to Barcelona, where football was not exactly pleasant for him. At the start of the 2021-22 season. he returned to Atletico Madrid on loan. He has had a disappointing season, but is expected to stay put with the Los Colchoneros for another season.
#2 Gareth Bale
Let this set things straight. Real Madrid had not won the UEFA Champions League in 11 years before Gareth Bale showed up. Wales were not at the Euros for 58 years and the World Cup for 64 years before Bale showed up.
Bale's football legacy is beyond doubt. Coming through the ranks at the famous Southampton youth academy, Bale started as a left-back. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, and from there on, began his gradual rise to becoming a football star.
Following his best ever Premier League season with Spurs, the Welshman signed for Real Madrid in 2013 in a then-world record deal. He went on to feature 258 times for Los Blancos, scoring 106 goals and registering 67 assists in the process.
The 32-year-old winger won 16 major trophies at Madrid, including a record five UEFA Champions League titles. He recently bid adieu to Real Madrid and is without a club at the moment.
There were rumors that Bale might be bringing down the curtains on an illustrious career. However, having recently fired Wales into the World Cup, we are glad to say that we will see more of Bale.
#1 Lionel Messi
One of the greatest-ever sportsperson that has come out of Argentina, Lionel Messi has never played in the country's top-flight league. Messi grew up supporting Newell's Old Boys, and joined the club when he was just six years old.
Despite his small and fragile frame, everybody soon realised that Messi was a special talent. At the age of 10, he was diagnosed with a with growth hormone deficiency which put his future as a professional footballer in doubt.
Newell's Old Boys refused to pay for his treatment, and Messi's parents had no option but to look elsewhere. Barcelona came up in 2001. Messi signed that famous paper napkin contract, taking him from Rosario to Catalonia, and the rest, as we know, is history.
Messi went on to establish himself as the greatest player in the club's history. He scored a mammoth 672 goals and won an astounding 35 major titles with the Catalans. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner left for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 due to financial issues at Barcelona.
With the Argentina national football team, Messi is their greatest-ever scorer. The diminutive Argentinian finally won a major international trophy with the Copa America win in 2021.
He also recently won the Finalissima, having thrashed European Champions Italy 3-0 in the final. The Argentinian team is on a great run, and Messi will be hoping that they can get their hands on the coveted trophy in Qatar.
