Origins and destinations of football expatriates (2020-2024)

Introduction

This report examines from a spatial perspective the presence of expatriate players in professional leagues. Expatriates are defined as footballers playing in an association other than the one in which they grew up, which they left after recruitment by a club abroad. This definition allows the study to focus on players who have migrated for footballing reasons, regardless of their sporting nationality or the passports held.

The analysis covers 135 leagues around the world, including 83 from UEFA member associations, with May 1st as the reference date for both 2024 and 2020, the year chosen to present data on migration trends. Expatriates currently account for 24.3% of club squad members, with a maximum of 29.3% in the European leagues surveyed and minimums of 11.7% and 12.5% in South America and Africa respectively.

In terms of trends, the number of expatriates in the 135 leagues analysed has risen by 19.2% since 2020, from 12,841 to a new record of 15,310. In absolute terms, the biggest increase was observed in Europe (+1,713 expatriates), while in relative terms the sharpest rise was recorded in South America (+41.9%). Historically reluctant to employ foreign players, South American clubs have now also started to bring in more footballers from abroad.

Origins

Three countries stand out as the main exporters of footballers: five-time world champions Brazil (1,338 players), as well as the last two FIFA World Cup winners, France (1,091) and Argentina (995). Players who grew up in these countries represent up to 22.4% of the expatriates in the 135 leagues studied, reflecting unrivalled expertise in developing top-level footballers and well-established international transfer networks.

With 946 players, France provides the largest contingent of expatriates to clubs in the 83 European leagues surveyed, ahead of Brazil and England. Argentina tops the list for South American teams (518 players), followed by Uruguay and Colombia. The latter country is ahead of Argentina as the main exporter to North and Central America (154 footballers), while Brazil crushes the competition in Asia (410 players).

The winners of the last two FIFA World Cup editions are also the nations whose number of nationals abroad has increased the most between 2020 and 2024: France (+273 expatriates) and Argentina (+220). Over the last five years, the number of expatriate footballers has also increased by more than 100 also for England (+141), Denmark (+111) and Nigeria (+103). Serbia, on the other hand, has seen the biggest decrease (-46).

Destinations

While the international mobility of footballers is still influenced by factors of geo-history, new migratory routes are emerging in a context of globalisation.

With regard to Brazilian expatriates, Portugal remains the main destination, but their presence there has declined since 2020 (-34), as it has in another traditional import country, Italy (-24). On the other hand, the number of Brazilians has increased in less usual destinations, such as South Korea (+26) and the United States (+18).

Luxembourg is the top destination for French expatriates (132 players). Luxembourg is also the country where the number of French expatriates has increased the most over the last five years (+54), ahead of another neighbouring country, Switzerland (+30). Clubs from a more distant association have also stepped up their recruitment in France: Bulgaria (+27). In all three cases, the migration involved players who were not able to find a place in France's top teams. England is the only country among the top ten French players’ destinations where their presence has fallen.

While Chile is the leading destination for Argentina’s expatriates (136), Peru is the association where their number has increased the most since 2020 (+43). More and more Argentines are also moving to Brazil (+32) and Uruguay (+24), while there has been a significant decline in Mexico (-24). Among the main countries of destination of Argentina’s expatriates, a decrease was also recorded for Spain. In all other cases, the trend is upwards.

The biggest increases in the number of players from one origin to one destination since 2020 reflect the growing migration of players from more to less developed footballing countries: the French to Luxembourg, the Argentines to Peru, the Croats to Bosnia, the English to Scotland and the Germans to Austria. This phenomenon largely explains the general increase in the presence of expatriate players in clubs.

Conclusion

Clubs around the world are calling on expatriate footballers more than ever. A new record for the 135 leagues studied was set in 2024. Since 2020, the number of expatriate players has risen by almost 20%. By continent, the biggest relative increase was recorded in South America (+42%), where the proportion of expatriates in squads exceeded the 10% threshold for the first time, followed by Asia (24%), where the percentage passed the 20% mark.

Our analysis shows that importing players who have grown up abroad is a phenomenon that now concerns a greater number of clubs and leagues around the world. Player mobility is increasingly taking place through transnational transfer networks, not just for the most talented footballers, but also for players at lower levels of professional football.

Three countries stand out as the main exporters of players: Brazil, France and Argentina. While Brazilians remain the most represented abroad, over the last five years, their numbers have grown much less (+86 expatriates) than those of the last two world champions: France (+273) and Argentina (+220). The biggest increases for players from the other main confederations were recorded for Nigerians (+103 expatriates), Japanese (+82) and Americans (+54).