Players Who Have Represented Teams in Four Different Countries
Kasey Keller
England (Millwall, Leicester City, Spurs, Southampton, Fulham); USA (Portland Timbers); Spain (Rayo Vallecano); Germany (Borussia Monchengladbach)
American goalkeeper Keller began his career in college at the University of Portland. In 1988 he helped his team to the NCAA Final Four and was named as the ‘Adidas Goalkeeper of the Year’ in his debut season. Called up to the US U’20’s squad Keller joined the Portland Timbers during the 1989 season helping them to a successful year. He moved to England in 1992 where he joined First Division Millwall and became a firm fans favourite in South East London. His four years hard work earned him a move to Leicester City where he played under Martin O’Neil in an extremely successful Premiership outfit. Felling like a career change, Keller joined newly promoted Rayo Vallecano of Spain on a free transfer. Two seasons later he returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur playing almost 100 games in four seasons with Spurs. The American lost in place to Paul Robinson in 2004 and although he joined Southampton on a loan spell he spent much of the time injured and decided to join Monchengladbach in 2005.
The stopper helped save the club from relegation before deciding to return to England with Fulham in August 2007.
Christian Panucci
Italy (Genoa, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma); Spain (Real Madrid); England (Chelsea); France (Monaco)
Panucci began his career in 1992 with Genoa as part of the youth team before moving onto part of a successful AC Milan team where he won the European Cup, European Super Cup and Serie A twice. In 1997 he made a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid under Fabio Capello and although he was unable to win the Championship as he had done in Italy he was past of a successful team which dominated in Europe in the 1997-8 season. He left Madrid in 1999 to return to Italy with Inter Milan but stayed there for a season before being loaned out to Chelsea in 2000 under Claudio Ranieri. During his time at the Blues he played a bit part role for Italian and in 2001 moved onto Monaco where he was unfortunate not to win the French League Championship.
The 2001 season saw him make a permanent move to Roma and playing over 200 league games under a series of different managers. As part of the Italian capital Premier team he has claimed the Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cups.
Marcel Desailly
France (Nantes, Marseille); Italy (AC Milan); England (Chelsea); Qatar (Al Gharafa, Qatar SC)
Born in Ghana, Desailly began his career in France with Nantes where he played youth football and turned professional. In 1992 he made a move to Marseille where he won the European Cup in his first season. A year later he attracted attention from AC Milan and moved to Italy in 1993, he won the biggest prize in European football once again and won the Italian title in 1994 and 1996 as part of an extremely successful side which dominated in Europe and domestically. After winning the World Cup with France in 1998 he chose to move to England where he became a great success with Chelsea. He helped the side to third in the Premiership and also claimed the FA Cup before leaving at the end of his contract in 2004. Desailly was snapped up by Qatari side Al-Gharafa and appointed the captain by their French coach. He stayed for one season and won the national championship before making his final move to Qatar SC in 2005 where he retired a year later.
Laurent Blanc
France (Montpellier, Nimes, St Etienne, Auxerre, Marseille); Italy (Napoli, Inter Milan), Spain (Barcelona), England (Manchester United)
French defender Laurent Blanc spent much of his early career in France. He played eight years at Montpellier before a brief spell in Italy with champions Napoli. He returned to his homeland with Nimes in 1992 before moving on to St Etienne a year later. After a relatively successful time there he joined Auxerre in 1996 where he won the French Cup and was lured to join Barcelona the same season. With the Spanish club he won the Spanish Super Cup but found it difficult to settle and once more returned to France with Marseille. Two years later Blanc was signed by Inter Milan and won their fans player of the year in 2000 alongside the European Championship with France. In 2001 Blanc made a move to England with Manchester United and helped them to the Championship in 2003 before deciding to retire in the same season.
Gabriel Heinze
Argentina (Newell’s Old Boys); Spain (Valladolid, Real Madrid), Portugal (Sporting Lisbon), France (Paris St Germaine), England (Manchester United)
Argentine defender Heinze began his club career with Newell’s in Rosario. Attracting attention from clubs abroad he moved to Valladolid of Spain in 1997 after one professional season and was sent on loan to Sporting Lisbon in the 1998-9 season to gain valuable experience. Returning to Spain he became a solid defender in the Valladolid team before they began to struggle in 2000. A year later Paris St Germaine came calling for the Argentinean who won the French Cup in 2004 before leaving to join Manchester United. Heinze suffered a serious injury in his first season at Old Trafford but returned to play a pivotal role in them winning the Championship in 2007 and the League Cup in 2006 before he decided to join Real Madrid at the start of 2007.
Andrei Kanchelskis
Ukraine (Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk); England (Manchester United, Everton, Southampton, Manchester City); Italy (Fiorentina); Scotland (Rangers); Qatar (Al-Hilal); Russia (Saturn Moscow, Krylia Sovetov)
Russian winger Kanchelskis started his career in the old Soviet Union with Dynamo Kyiv before joining Shakhtar Donetsk in 1990. He was successful by winning the UEFA Super Cup but joined Manchester United in 1992 and won the Premiership twice and the FA Cup once in four seasons during his first spell in England. The transferred to Everton, winning the charity shield before leaving for Fiorentina in Italy where he spent two successful seasons. The winger left Italy to join Rangers in 1998 and promptly began to be part of the clubs legendary nine in a row league wins. As well as the two Championships he claimed three Scottish cups and two Scottish League Cups. He spent a season at Manchester City on loan before moving on a permanent deal to Southampton in 2003 where he only played one game. He spent a brief spell in Qatar at Al-Hilal before moving back to his homeland with Saturn Moscow Oblast and latterly Krylia Sovetov before his retirement in 2006.
Edgar Davids
Holland (Ajax); Italy (AC Milan, Juventus, Inter); Spain (Barcelona); England (Spurs)
Tenacious midfielder Davids started his career at Ajax as a 19 year old playing a part in the clubs European and domestic successes in the mid-90s. He was brought by AC Milan but failed to break into an already successful side so moved onto Juventus where he played seven years between 1997 and 2004. Davids spent a successful season at Barcelona where he played an important role in their La Liga success in that season. A year later the Dutchman was sold to Inter Milan but once again failed to hold down a first team place and left to move to England with Tottenham on a free transfer. With Spurs struggling and Davids wishing to return back to Holland before the end of his career, he re-joined Ajax winning the Dutch Cup in his first year and helping them push PSV all the way from in the Dutch League.
Mido
Egypt (El-Zamalek), Belgium (KAA Gent); Holland (Ajax), Spain (Celta), France (Marseille), Italy (Roma), England (Spurs, Middlesbrough)
The somewhat nomadic Egyptian has played in seven countries due, in part, to his frequent temperament problems and disagreements with managers. He began in Egypt with El-Zamalek, impressing in his brief spell at the club he moved to Belgium with Gent before signing for Ajax in 2001. He won the domestic league and cup double before being sent on loan to Celta Vigo for reported discipline problems. The made a permanent move to Marseille in 2003 but stayed in France only a year before being signed by AS Roma. He struggled to make an impact with the Italian club and was sent to Spurs on loan before making the move to England permanent in 2006. Having fallen down the pecking order Mido joined Middlesbrough in 2007 but has spent much of his time at the club injured.
Paul Gascoigne
England (Newcastle, Spurs, Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, Boston); Italy (Lazio); Scotland (Rangers); China (Gansu Tianma)
Mercurial English talent Paul Gascoigne began as a trainee at Newcastle United in 1980 before turning professional in 1985. He stayed with the Geordies for another three season before moving to Tottenham in 1988. He played as part of the team which won reached the FA Cup Final in 1991 but was injured in the final and missed the following season suffering further setbacks. He joined Lazio in 1992 and played for three successful seasons despite a series of injuries which caused his career to be very start stop. He returned to Britain with Rangers in Scotland and won the players play of the year and football writers’ player of the year in his first season. He also captured the League Championship in two of his season as well as the Scottish Cup and League Cup.
He moved back to England with Middlesbrough where again injuries prevented him from playing to his full potential, in 2000 he transferred to Everton before moving into division one with Burnley two seasons later. Gascoigne took up a player manager role with Chinese second division side Gansu Tianma in 2003 but external pressures and difficulties in his personal life meant a return to his homeland with Boston United before he retired in 2004.
Youri Djorkaeff
France (Grenoble, Strasbourg, Monaco, PSG); Italy (Inter Milan); Germany (Kaiserslautern); England (Bolton, Blackburn); USA (New York Red Bulls)
Born in France, Djorkaeff spent much of his earlier career playing in the top division of France. He started at Grenoble before moving to Strasbourg and then Monaco where he played for four seasons where he helped the club into Europe. In 1995 he had great success with PSG winning the Cup Winners Cup before transferring to Inter Milan and claiming another European trophy in the UEFA Cup. He moved to Kaiserslautern after failing to win any domestic trophies, his move to Germany last three seasons in which time he was successful with France at Euro 2000 and in 2001 he decided to join Bolton Wanderers where he helped the side stay in the Premier League before falling out of favour. Djorkaeff spent a brief spell at Blackburn before going for a year without a club. In 2005 he was acquired by the New York Red Bulls where he spent two successful seasons in the MLS before making the decision to retire in 2006.
Nicolas Anelka
France (Paris St Germaine), England (Arsenal, Liverpool, Bolton, Chelsea), Spain (Real Madrid), Turkey (Fenerbahce)
Current Chelsea striker Nicholas Anelka began his career with his home town club Paris St Germaine in 1995 before moving to England to join Arsenal under Wenger in 1997. Winning the title and FA Cup with the Gunners in his first season, Anelka was also named as the PFA Young Player of the Year in 1999 before he departed for around 31 million to Real Madrid. The French striker initially struggled to adapt to Spanish football though scored an important goal in the Champions League Semi final which helped the club from the Spanish capital progress. He left Spain after one season and moved back to Paris where he captured the French League title in his first season, however when he fell out of favour and feared his International chances were harmed he chose to return to England with Liverpool taking him on loan for a season. Gerrard Houllier delayed in signing the Frenchman on a permanent basis though and Anelka chose to join Kevin Keegan at Manchester City in 2005. Anelka stayed at City for three years before moving to play in Turkey with Fenerbahce. Unhappy with Turkish life, Anelka once more sought a return to England and joined Sam Allardyce’s Bolton Wanderers’ team in 2006. Claiming that he was looking for a return to play in European Competition to ensure a place in the French National Squad at Euro 2008 Anelka moved to Chelsea in this seasons transfer window for a fee of around 15 Million Pounds.
Due to several expensive career moves throughout his ten years in football, Anelka is the most expensive player in football history with combined transfer fees of around £87 million.
England (Millwall, Leicester City, Spurs, Southampton, Fulham); USA (Portland Timbers); Spain (Rayo Vallecano); Germany (Borussia Monchengladbach)
American goalkeeper Keller began his career in college at the University of Portland. In 1988 he helped his team to the NCAA Final Four and was named as the ‘Adidas Goalkeeper of the Year’ in his debut season. Called up to the US U’20’s squad Keller joined the Portland Timbers during the 1989 season helping them to a successful year. He moved to England in 1992 where he joined First Division Millwall and became a firm fans favourite in South East London. His four years hard work earned him a move to Leicester City where he played under Martin O’Neil in an extremely successful Premiership outfit. Felling like a career change, Keller joined newly promoted Rayo Vallecano of Spain on a free transfer. Two seasons later he returned to England with Tottenham Hotspur playing almost 100 games in four seasons with Spurs. The American lost in place to Paul Robinson in 2004 and although he joined Southampton on a loan spell he spent much of the time injured and decided to join Monchengladbach in 2005.
The stopper helped save the club from relegation before deciding to return to England with Fulham in August 2007.
Christian Panucci
Italy (Genoa, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma); Spain (Real Madrid); England (Chelsea); France (Monaco)
Panucci began his career in 1992 with Genoa as part of the youth team before moving onto part of a successful AC Milan team where he won the European Cup, European Super Cup and Serie A twice. In 1997 he made a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid under Fabio Capello and although he was unable to win the Championship as he had done in Italy he was past of a successful team which dominated in Europe in the 1997-8 season. He left Madrid in 1999 to return to Italy with Inter Milan but stayed there for a season before being loaned out to Chelsea in 2000 under Claudio Ranieri. During his time at the Blues he played a bit part role for Italian and in 2001 moved onto Monaco where he was unfortunate not to win the French League Championship.
The 2001 season saw him make a permanent move to Roma and playing over 200 league games under a series of different managers. As part of the Italian capital Premier team he has claimed the Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cups.
Marcel Desailly
France (Nantes, Marseille); Italy (AC Milan); England (Chelsea); Qatar (Al Gharafa, Qatar SC)
Born in Ghana, Desailly began his career in France with Nantes where he played youth football and turned professional. In 1992 he made a move to Marseille where he won the European Cup in his first season. A year later he attracted attention from AC Milan and moved to Italy in 1993, he won the biggest prize in European football once again and won the Italian title in 1994 and 1996 as part of an extremely successful side which dominated in Europe and domestically. After winning the World Cup with France in 1998 he chose to move to England where he became a great success with Chelsea. He helped the side to third in the Premiership and also claimed the FA Cup before leaving at the end of his contract in 2004. Desailly was snapped up by Qatari side Al-Gharafa and appointed the captain by their French coach. He stayed for one season and won the national championship before making his final move to Qatar SC in 2005 where he retired a year later.
Laurent Blanc
France (Montpellier, Nimes, St Etienne, Auxerre, Marseille); Italy (Napoli, Inter Milan), Spain (Barcelona), England (Manchester United)
French defender Laurent Blanc spent much of his early career in France. He played eight years at Montpellier before a brief spell in Italy with champions Napoli. He returned to his homeland with Nimes in 1992 before moving on to St Etienne a year later. After a relatively successful time there he joined Auxerre in 1996 where he won the French Cup and was lured to join Barcelona the same season. With the Spanish club he won the Spanish Super Cup but found it difficult to settle and once more returned to France with Marseille. Two years later Blanc was signed by Inter Milan and won their fans player of the year in 2000 alongside the European Championship with France. In 2001 Blanc made a move to England with Manchester United and helped them to the Championship in 2003 before deciding to retire in the same season.
Gabriel Heinze
Argentina (Newell’s Old Boys); Spain (Valladolid, Real Madrid), Portugal (Sporting Lisbon), France (Paris St Germaine), England (Manchester United)
Argentine defender Heinze began his club career with Newell’s in Rosario. Attracting attention from clubs abroad he moved to Valladolid of Spain in 1997 after one professional season and was sent on loan to Sporting Lisbon in the 1998-9 season to gain valuable experience. Returning to Spain he became a solid defender in the Valladolid team before they began to struggle in 2000. A year later Paris St Germaine came calling for the Argentinean who won the French Cup in 2004 before leaving to join Manchester United. Heinze suffered a serious injury in his first season at Old Trafford but returned to play a pivotal role in them winning the Championship in 2007 and the League Cup in 2006 before he decided to join Real Madrid at the start of 2007.
Andrei Kanchelskis
Ukraine (Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk); England (Manchester United, Everton, Southampton, Manchester City); Italy (Fiorentina); Scotland (Rangers); Qatar (Al-Hilal); Russia (Saturn Moscow, Krylia Sovetov)
Russian winger Kanchelskis started his career in the old Soviet Union with Dynamo Kyiv before joining Shakhtar Donetsk in 1990. He was successful by winning the UEFA Super Cup but joined Manchester United in 1992 and won the Premiership twice and the FA Cup once in four seasons during his first spell in England. The transferred to Everton, winning the charity shield before leaving for Fiorentina in Italy where he spent two successful seasons. The winger left Italy to join Rangers in 1998 and promptly began to be part of the clubs legendary nine in a row league wins. As well as the two Championships he claimed three Scottish cups and two Scottish League Cups. He spent a season at Manchester City on loan before moving on a permanent deal to Southampton in 2003 where he only played one game. He spent a brief spell in Qatar at Al-Hilal before moving back to his homeland with Saturn Moscow Oblast and latterly Krylia Sovetov before his retirement in 2006.
Edgar Davids
Holland (Ajax); Italy (AC Milan, Juventus, Inter); Spain (Barcelona); England (Spurs)
Tenacious midfielder Davids started his career at Ajax as a 19 year old playing a part in the clubs European and domestic successes in the mid-90s. He was brought by AC Milan but failed to break into an already successful side so moved onto Juventus where he played seven years between 1997 and 2004. Davids spent a successful season at Barcelona where he played an important role in their La Liga success in that season. A year later the Dutchman was sold to Inter Milan but once again failed to hold down a first team place and left to move to England with Tottenham on a free transfer. With Spurs struggling and Davids wishing to return back to Holland before the end of his career, he re-joined Ajax winning the Dutch Cup in his first year and helping them push PSV all the way from in the Dutch League.
Mido
Egypt (El-Zamalek), Belgium (KAA Gent); Holland (Ajax), Spain (Celta), France (Marseille), Italy (Roma), England (Spurs, Middlesbrough)
The somewhat nomadic Egyptian has played in seven countries due, in part, to his frequent temperament problems and disagreements with managers. He began in Egypt with El-Zamalek, impressing in his brief spell at the club he moved to Belgium with Gent before signing for Ajax in 2001. He won the domestic league and cup double before being sent on loan to Celta Vigo for reported discipline problems. The made a permanent move to Marseille in 2003 but stayed in France only a year before being signed by AS Roma. He struggled to make an impact with the Italian club and was sent to Spurs on loan before making the move to England permanent in 2006. Having fallen down the pecking order Mido joined Middlesbrough in 2007 but has spent much of his time at the club injured.
Paul Gascoigne
England (Newcastle, Spurs, Middlesbrough, Everton, Burnley, Boston); Italy (Lazio); Scotland (Rangers); China (Gansu Tianma)
Mercurial English talent Paul Gascoigne began as a trainee at Newcastle United in 1980 before turning professional in 1985. He stayed with the Geordies for another three season before moving to Tottenham in 1988. He played as part of the team which won reached the FA Cup Final in 1991 but was injured in the final and missed the following season suffering further setbacks. He joined Lazio in 1992 and played for three successful seasons despite a series of injuries which caused his career to be very start stop. He returned to Britain with Rangers in Scotland and won the players play of the year and football writers’ player of the year in his first season. He also captured the League Championship in two of his season as well as the Scottish Cup and League Cup.
He moved back to England with Middlesbrough where again injuries prevented him from playing to his full potential, in 2000 he transferred to Everton before moving into division one with Burnley two seasons later. Gascoigne took up a player manager role with Chinese second division side Gansu Tianma in 2003 but external pressures and difficulties in his personal life meant a return to his homeland with Boston United before he retired in 2004.
Youri Djorkaeff
France (Grenoble, Strasbourg, Monaco, PSG); Italy (Inter Milan); Germany (Kaiserslautern); England (Bolton, Blackburn); USA (New York Red Bulls)
Born in France, Djorkaeff spent much of his earlier career playing in the top division of France. He started at Grenoble before moving to Strasbourg and then Monaco where he played for four seasons where he helped the club into Europe. In 1995 he had great success with PSG winning the Cup Winners Cup before transferring to Inter Milan and claiming another European trophy in the UEFA Cup. He moved to Kaiserslautern after failing to win any domestic trophies, his move to Germany last three seasons in which time he was successful with France at Euro 2000 and in 2001 he decided to join Bolton Wanderers where he helped the side stay in the Premier League before falling out of favour. Djorkaeff spent a brief spell at Blackburn before going for a year without a club. In 2005 he was acquired by the New York Red Bulls where he spent two successful seasons in the MLS before making the decision to retire in 2006.
Nicolas Anelka
France (Paris St Germaine), England (Arsenal, Liverpool, Bolton, Chelsea), Spain (Real Madrid), Turkey (Fenerbahce)
Current Chelsea striker Nicholas Anelka began his career with his home town club Paris St Germaine in 1995 before moving to England to join Arsenal under Wenger in 1997. Winning the title and FA Cup with the Gunners in his first season, Anelka was also named as the PFA Young Player of the Year in 1999 before he departed for around 31 million to Real Madrid. The French striker initially struggled to adapt to Spanish football though scored an important goal in the Champions League Semi final which helped the club from the Spanish capital progress. He left Spain after one season and moved back to Paris where he captured the French League title in his first season, however when he fell out of favour and feared his International chances were harmed he chose to return to England with Liverpool taking him on loan for a season. Gerrard Houllier delayed in signing the Frenchman on a permanent basis though and Anelka chose to join Kevin Keegan at Manchester City in 2005. Anelka stayed at City for three years before moving to play in Turkey with Fenerbahce. Unhappy with Turkish life, Anelka once more sought a return to England and joined Sam Allardyce’s Bolton Wanderers’ team in 2006. Claiming that he was looking for a return to play in European Competition to ensure a place in the French National Squad at Euro 2008 Anelka moved to Chelsea in this seasons transfer window for a fee of around 15 Million Pounds.
Due to several expensive career moves throughout his ten years in football, Anelka is the most expensive player in football history with combined transfer fees of around £87 million.