10 players who hit a new level after leaving the Premier League.
While there have been plenty of great imports to the Premier League, there are just as many examples of those who have flourished once they leave English shores.
Michael Olise is the latest player carving it up since moving away from the Premier League, and over the years, several top-quality stars have taken their game up a level after a transfer away.
Gerard Pique
Barcelona-born Pique was always likely to return to the Camp Nou, but when he did in 2008, he became one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in football history.
He was a central figure in a side that won nine league titles and three Champions Leagues, and while the move to United improved him as a player, there is no doubt he went up a level when he returned to Catalonia.
Scott McTominay
If we are measuring players by the cultural impact they’ve had on a new club, then McTominay may well be the greatest British export of all time.
A move to Napoli has rejuvenated the Scottish midfielder, who looked destined to become another forgotten player of Premier League years, and he has flourished in Naples.
He was the star of Napoli’s title success last season and had murals painted of him on the streets, right next to one of Diego Maradona. Some company.
Gareth Bale
Two PFA Player of the Year awards in three years put Bale in the shop window, and Madrid came calling with £85.1million in 2013.
While being the star man at Tottenham, Bale had to accept being No.2 to Ronaldo in Madrid but still flourished in the role and scored one of the most important goals in the club’s history during the 2014 Champions League final.
Madrid fans may not have always loved him, but he was one of the best players in the world for a number of years.
Michael Olise
Palace and Eberechi Eze both looked talents destined for the top during their years at Crystal Palace, and the former’s skill has been exemplified since making a move to Bayern.
The number of assists he has in the last two years is better than any other player in the top five European leagues, and he looks set to break Thomas Muller’s record tally for a single Bundesliga season.
Memphis Depay
After an underwhelming spell at United, Depay left to rebuild his career at Lyon and did just that.
The Dutchman scored 76 goals in 178, providing a further 56, which earned him a move to Barcelona, something that looked very unlikely during his days at Old Trafford.
Chris Smalling
Before McTominay, there was Smalling as the England defender rejuvenated his career with a move to Italy.
Arriving initially on loan, his playing style seemed to fit more naturally in Serie A and he featured 37 times for his new club, earning him a permanent deal.
He would go on to make 100 appearances for the Italian side and won the UEFA Conference League in 2022.
Jadon Sancho
Faced with a long line of talented players ahead of him, Sancho left Manchester City for pastures new at Dortmund, which proved to be an excellent career decision.
Whilst in Germany, he developed into one of the most exciting wingers on the planet, particularly strong at dribbling from deep.
Unfortunately for Sancho, what goes up must come down, and a return to England did not work out. He is currently on loan at Villa from United but looks a long way off the player he once was.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo was already a Ballon d’Or winner by the time he left United, but there is no doubt he went up another level in Madrid.
His stats in the Spanish capital are frankly ridiculous. He scored 450 goals in 438 appearances, won five Champions League titles, including three in a row, and added four more Ballons d’Or to his collection.
Would he have hit these heights if he stayed at United? Maybe, but it seems Madrid was the perfect environment to feed his ego and allow him to flourish.
Romelu Lukaku
There is something about Lukaku that has made more than one Premier League boss believe they can get the best out of him.
On the face of it, he has all the attributes to be a success in the league, and yet his best years undeniably came early on, first at West Brom and then Everton.
But a stint at Manchester United was underwhelming. A switch to Italy and Inter Milan saw Antonio Conte turn him into one of the best strikers on the planet, which convinced Chelsea to part with £97.5million.
Diego Forlan
Sir Alex Ferguson is famous for his ruthless managerial style when it came to picking players, and yet he persisted with Diego Forlan far longer than he perhaps should have.
17 goals in 98 games is a strange outlier in the career of the Uruguayan who rediscovered his scoring touch once he left Old Trafford.
He moved to Villarreal, scoring 59 in 127, but it was when he joined Atletico that he became one of the best strikers on the planet.
He scored 96 goals in his 198 games, which was a good ratio in the pre-Messi/Ronaldo era and started a trend of Atletico having some of the very best goal scorers in the world.
