November 27 – Globetrotting Brazilian footballers make up the highest numbers of players from one nation outside their country, playing in 23 different national leagues worldwide. But it is the French expat players who are the most prevalent in Europe’s big five leagues.
The latest report by the CIES Football Observatory lists the ten most represented foreign nationals by nation in 126 professional leagues worldwide.
While there are Brazilians in more leagues worldwide than any other nation – they are followed by the Argentineans (playing in 15 leagues) and the French (13) – it is the presence of French players in Europe’s most competitive clubs and leagues that is the most remarkable.
“Players who grew up in France notably are the main expatriate workforce in the English Premier League (47 players), the German Bundesliga (36), the Italian Serie A (35) and the Spanish Liga (30). The French represent the most represented foreign origin in eight other associations: Belgium (both 1st and 2nd division), Bulgaria, Turkey, Switzerland, Romania, Qatar, Algeria and Luxembourg,” say the CIES report authors.
The CIES also tracks the flow of players and their migratory routes.
“The most frequented migration route connects Brazil to Portugal: 141 Brazilians play in the top Portuguese division and 106 in the second one. The three other major migratory channels connect neighbouring leagues, with the bigger nation providing workforce to the smaller: from England to the top Welsh division (100 players), from France to Luxembourg (93), as well as from England to the Scottish Premiership (90),” says the report.
See the full 126 league ranking here.
See also the CIES Atlas of migration that presents more data on international transfer networks.
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