The list of Scottish players who have played outside Scotland could go on forever – but no, we’re not counting England as abroad.
Instead, we’ve picked out a selection of prominent Scots with experience of playing club football beyond the UK – from France to the USA.
Let’s get straight into it…
Eric Black
Forced to retire aged just 27 due to a chronic back problem, Eric Black played for two clubs: Aberdeen and Metz.
Having scored in Aberdeen’s 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup final victory, the two-cap Scotland striker found the net for Metz to help them win the 1987 Coupe de France final.
Scott Booth
Capped 22 times by Scotland from 1993 to 2001, striker Scott Booth bookended his career with spells at hometown club Aberdeen, spending six years abroad in between.
Booth joined Borussia Dortmund in 1997 but had two stints away on loan with Dutch outfits Utrecht and Vitesse Arnhem.
He spent the best part of six years in the Netherlands in all, making over 100 appearances for FC Twente.
Steven Fletcher
A Premier League goalscorer for Burnley, Wolves and Sunderland, Steven Fletcher left the latter on loan for Marseille in the second half of the 2015/16 season.
The ex-Hibernian frontman, who represented his country on 33 occasions, scored three times in 13 outings for the Ligue 1 giants and featured in the final of the Coupe de France.
Richard Gough
Captain of Walter Smith’s Rangers team who dominated Scottish football during the 90s, Richard Gough turned out for two American clubs.
The defender made the MLS All-Star game as a Kansas City Wizards and San Jose Clash player, also earning inclusion in the league’s Best XI for his performances in the colours of the former.
Mo Johnston
Formerly of Celtic and Rangers – his arrival at the latter in 1989 proving one of the most controversial transfer moves of all time – Mo Johnston saw out his career in the USA.
The 38-cap Scotland forward made a big impact with the Kansas City Wizards, starring as they were crowned MLS champions in 2000.
Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan was one of Scotland’s most important players of the 70s, a decade during which he helped Leeds to the First Division title and also starred for Manchester United.
But the renowned hardman took on a different challenge altogether in 1981, heading to Italy to join Milan – where he won the Serie B title before moving on to Verona.
Paul Lambert
Paul Lambert’s time with Borussia Dortmund was relatively short, but the midfielder was there long enough to play a key role in winning the Champions League.
The ex-Celtic man produced a fine display to largely mark Zinedine Zidane out of the game as Dortmund defeated Juventus to be crowned 1996/97 European champions.
Denis Law
One of the greatest British players of all time, Denis Law played on both sides of the Manchester divide – making the vast majority of his career appearances and scoring the vast majority of his career goals for United.
Between leaving City and arriving at Old Trafford, though, the prolific Aberdonian centre-forward spent in Italy with Torino, striking 10 times in Serie A.
Shaun Maloney
A multiple Scottish champion at Celtic, his first club, and an FA Cup winner with Wigan, Shaun Maloney had a brief stint across the pond in MLS.
The winger, who earned 47 Scotland caps between 2005 and 2016, made 17 appearances for Chicago Fire before returning to England to join Hull.
Mark McGhee
An Aberdeen legend who starred in two league triumphs and the 1982/83 Cup Winners’ Cup success, Mark McGhee played overseas in Germany and Sweden.
The striker spent an injury-hit season-and-a-bit with 1982/83 European Cup winners Hamburg, signing for £330,000 in 1984, and later turned out a handful of times for IK Brage.
Allan McGregor
Goalkeeper Allan McGregor swapped Scotland for Turkey in 2012, joining Besiktas having claimed every major domestic honour at Rangers – who had gone into liquidation.
Number one for most of the 2012/13 campaign, his sole season in Istanbul, McGregor helped the Black Eagles to a third-placed finish in the Turkish Super Lig.
Alan McInally
A year after helping Aston Villa win promotion back to the top flight, Alan McInally completed a £1.2m switch to one of the biggest clubs in Europe: Bayern Munich.
The former Celtic centre-forward was on target 10 times in his first campaign at Bayern, a successful one which culminated in the Bundesliga title.
Scott McTominay
Scott McTominay left Manchester United for Napoli in a £25.7m deal towards the end of the summer 2024 transfer window, joining the Serie A giants alongside international teammate Billy Gilmour.
The midfielder quickly became a regular under Antonio Conte, scoring three goals in his first 10 appearances in all competitions.
Kenny Miller
A Scottish champion with both Old Firm rivals, Kenny Miller had spells abroad in Turkey and Canada.
The striker, who netted 18 times for Scotland and captained the team on five occasions, scored five goals in 15 outings for Bursaspor and 13 in 43 for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Graeme Souness
While his Coppa Italia-winning stint with Sampdoria was his most memorable overseas endeavour, Graeme Souness played in three countries outside the UK.
Before gaining legendary status at Liverpool, the no-nonsense midfielder was at Tottenham and Middlesbrough, from where he spent time on loan at Canada’s Montreal Olympique and Australia’s West Adelaide respectively.
Kieran Tierney
After appearing for Arsenal in their Community Shield win over Manchester City, Kieran Tierney headed to Real Sociedad on loan for the rest of the 2023/24 campaign.
The ex-Celtic left-back played 26 games for the Basque side, 20 of which came in LaLiga, before returning to the Gunners in the summer of 2024.
