British strikers who smashed it abroad: Gary Lineker, Mark Hateley, Kevin Keegan...
- George Attwood
- 2 September 2021
Tammy Abraham has done exceptionally well since settling into life in Italy and can join this elite list of British players who have impressed on the continent, which includes Gary Lineker.
Abraham has scored 23 goals in 55 league appearances for Roma since moving to Italy in a £34million deal.
He is well on track to better the achievements of this illustrious list of British exports.
Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker may be more well-known for crisp commercials and fronting Match of the Day (although for how much longer remains to be seen), but as a player, he was one of the most clinical strikers of his generation.
After winning the Golden Boot in Mexico at the 1986 World Cup, Lineker joined Barcelona for £2.8million. The move gave him his first taste of European soccer and on his debut, he scored twice against Racing Santander.
During his time in Spain, Lineker won the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. Hero status has already been assured, however, when in his first season he scored a hat-trick in a 3-2 victory over bitter rivals Real Madrid.
In 103 league appearances for Barcelona, he scored 42 goals. It made him the highest-scoring British player to play in La Liga, a mark later surpassed by Gareth Bale.
The striker returned to England with Tottenham but was on his travels again in 1992, joining J.League side Nagoya Grampus Eight on a two-year deal.
Lineker's two years in Japan were marred by a broken right toe - he only played 23 times, scoring nine goals - and he retired in September 1994.
Kevin Keegan
After making over 300 appearances for Liverpool, Kevin Keegan moved to Bundesliga side Hamburger SV for a British record transfer fee of £500,000 in 1977 - a switch that almost doubled the German transfer record.
Keegan was brought in to transform the club into one that could compete at the top of the table but in his first season they finished 10th. This was despite Keegan scoring 12 goals and being named the France Football European Footballer of the Year for 1978.
The following season, Keegan led his side to their first title in 19 years. He was named European Footballer of the Year for a second straight season, joining the select trio of Alfredo di Stefano, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff in winning it more than once.
Keegan was nicknamed Mighty Mouse by the Hamburg fans. He played over 90 times in Germany and scored 32 times before moving back to England to join Southampton in 1980.
Mark Hateley
Hateley played over 500 times for 11 clubs across the globe, as well as making 32 appearances for the England national team.
After scoring 22 league goals in the 1983/84 season for Second Division Portsmouth, Hateley joined AC Milan for £1million in June 1984, replacing Luther Blissett.
He made himself a Rossoneri hero by scoring the winning goal in the Milan derby that October, giving AC Milan their first win over Inter in six years and helping earn him the nickname Attila.
Hateley spent three seasons in Italy, scoring 17 goals in 66 games but was blighted by injury problems and eventually moved on to France.
Arsene Wenger signed Hateley for French side AS Monaco and in his first season at the club, he won Ligue 1. It was Monaco's first title in six years.
After three years and 22 goals for Monaco, Hateley returned to the UK to join Rangers in a £1million deal.
John Charles
John Charles is considered to be one of the most gifted soccer players ever to come from Britain.
After making almost 300 appearances for Leeds United, Charles moved to Italian side Juventus for a then British record fee of £65,000.
Charles was one of the first British professional players to be signed by an overseas team. In his debut for the Old Lady, he scored the winner in a 3-2 victory over Hellas Verona.
In Charles' first season in Italy, he was Serie A top scorer with 28 goals and was voted Player of the Season as Juventus won the Scudetto.
During his five years in Turin, Charles won the Scudetto three times and the Coppa Italia twice. In 1959, Charles finished third in the Ballon d'Or, the highest position for a Welsh player.
Bradley Wright-Phillips
The son of Ian Wright, Bradley Wright-Phillips struggled to emerge from the shadow of his famous father and apart from a prolific season with Charlton, struggled to make an impact in England's second and third tiers.
After being released by the Addicks, Wright-Phillips joined New York Red Bulls midway through their 2013 season.
His impact was immediate. He helped the Red Bulls to the MLS Supporters' Shield and in his first full season, Wright-Phillips scored a record 27 MLS goals, including three hat-tricks in the regular season.
In the play-offs, Wright-Phillips netted three times to help his side reach the Eastern Conference final but a red card saw him miss the second leg which Red Bulls lost.
The following season, Wright-Phillips helped Red Bulls claim the 2015 Supporters' Shield.
In 2016, he made his 100th appearance and set an MLS record when scoring a hat-trick in the first 27 minutes of a game against Toronto FC.
In August 2018, NYRB announced that they would retire his No. 99 jersey in recognition of his achievements.
In his six seasons with New York, he was a two-time MLS Golden Boot winner and is the holder of the Red Bulls record for most goals scored. He also became the 11th MLS player to score 100 goals.
Wright-Phillips remains in MLS and is now at Columbus Crew.
Steve Archibald
After winning two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup, Archibald left Tottenham Hotspur in 1984 to join Barcelona.
He cost the Catalan side over £1.1million and in his first season in Spain, he helped them win their first La Liga title in 11 years.
He was also a key member of the team that reached the European Cup final in 1986. Barcelona went on to lose to Steaua Bucharest on penalties.
Archibald was well-loved at Camp Nou but due to new restrictions that limited the number of foreign players in a side, he found himself excluded in favour of Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes.
Nevertheless, during his four seasons in Catalonia, Archibald scored 24 goals in 55 appearances.
He was loaned out to Blackburn before signing for Hibs and later enjoyed another brief spell in Spain, scoring five goals in 15 appearances for Espanyol in the Segunda Division.
