“We’re well used to seeing established internationals from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay et al plying their trade in Europe’s top leagues, but are there any examples of the opposite: Europeans enjoying an extended spell playing in South America while also turning out for their respective (top) nations?” asks Ian Clover.
It remains incredibly rare for a high-profile European player to move to South America at or near their peak. The most famous, at least in this country, might be Manchester City legend Georgi Kinkladze. In the summer of 1994, a year before moving to City from Dinamo Tbilisi, Kinkladze spent a month on loan at Boca Juniors. It was effectively a trial after he was spotted by Boca’s scouts while playing against a Boca team during another trial with Atlético Madrid. Kinkladze got to share a dressing room, and occasionally even a training pitch, with his idol Diego Maradona, who was serving a drugs ban after USA 94.
