GOAL runs the rule over the British players earning a living away from their homeland, with plenty more stars deciding to leave their home comforts in search of a better footballing life elsewhere. The Premier League is still obviously one of the world's most entertaining divisions and the Championship can prove fantastic for development, but there are more options out there.
The grass isn't always greener, but this weekend turned out to be a largely successful one for Britain's footballing expats. Two of them conjured up vital goals against title rivals, while the current England captain also revelled in another big victory, albeit without getting on the scoresheet. However, a select few were left downbeat after ending up on the wrong side of a result, and one former Chelsea star missed a golden opportunity to leave a lasting mark.
Every Monday this season, GOAL will bring you the definitive lowdown on British stars abroad, what they're getting up to, who is reaching the greatest heights and who appears to be suffering with homesickness. Let's get stuck into this week's edition…
Bellingham delivers crushing Clasico blow
What a week for Jude Bellingham! The Real Madrid midfielder scored his team's Champions League winner against Italian giants Juventus in midweek, and then repeated the trick in a bad-tempered Clasico encounter with Barcelona on Sunday.
Any concerns over whether Bellingham would take months to rediscover his best form after shoulder surgery have been emphatically dispelled. Deployed as a right-sided No.10, the 22-year-old was sensational against Barca in both attack and defence.
Bellingham's beautifully weighted pass set Kylian Mbappe free to score Madrid's opener, and he cleverly ghosted in at the far post to score their second just before the break, tucking home from close range after Eder Militao had nodded a Vinicius Jr cross back across goal. Los Blancos went on to win 2-1, with Fermin Lopez's 38th-minute effort proving to be nothing more than a consolation for the visitors, and Madrid now sit five points clear at the La Liga summit.
Xabi Alonso's men were great value for the victory, too, with a missed penalty from Mbappe keeping the score down. If they can maintain this level, a clean sweep of silverware is not beyond the realms of possibility for the 15-time European champions.
Mbappe will continue to bag most of the headlines with his goals, but Bellingham is shaping up to be Madrid's leading man again. He tormented Barca's defence throughout his 89 minutes on the pitch, mustering five shots in total, and also shut down the majority of their counter-attacks as he posted five lung-busting recoveries.
Alonso singled out the former Borussia Dortmund star for special praise after the game, telling reporters: "We knew before the last break that he needed time, minutes, to get going. He’s done better than we expected after the last break. Jude is all about feeling, communicating, and connecting. That’s why he’s had some very good games."
An England recall should now be a formality when the November international break comes into effect. Bellingham is well and truly back.
AdvertisementMagic McTominay downs Inter
Napoli went into Saturday's home game against Inter still reeling from a shocking 6-2 defeat to PSV in the Champions League. Antonio Conte vowed to "bring the whip" to his players after that setback, and the tough love certainly seemed to have a positive effect.
The reigning Serie A champions, who had also lost their last domestic outing to Torino, returned to the top of the table courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Inter, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Scott McTominay and Frank Anguissa seeing off Inter.
Anguissa scored the pick of the bunch to round things off after a scintillating run from near the centre-circle, but it was McTominay's 54th-minute strike that held the most significance. He raced on to a searching long pass from Leonardo Spinazzola, and after appearing to misjudge the flight of the ball initially, readjusted himself before unleashing a fearsome volley that was destined for the bottom corner as soon as it left his boot.
McTominay also scored both of Napoli's goals in the PSV game, having previously found the net just once in his first eight appearances of the season. The Scotland midfielder has rediscovered his eye for goal just when his team needed him most.
"I lost it in the lights, so the pass took me by surprise, the lights are so bright I couldn’t see it. Then I just thought to shoot," the ex-Manchester United ace told when asked about the instinctive strike. "Now we need to find that consistency so we can continue to push."
Conte has historically struggled to maintain consistency across domestic and European competition as a manager, but when McTominay is firing on all cylinders, Napoli can go toe-to-toe with any opponent. Despite the summer additions of De Bruyne and Rasmus Hojlund, McTominay is still the king of Naples and the key to their hopes of more silverware.
Getty Images SportKane gives up Bayern spotlight
Harry Kane has been arguably the best player in Europe so far this season. He racked up 20 goals and three assists in his first 12 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich, including Champions League braces against Chelsea and Pafos, emerging as the early frontrunner for the 2026 Ballon d'Or in the process.
Heading into Bayern's latest Bundesliga clash with Borussia Monchengladbach, Kane was looking to find the net for the 12th game in a row for club and country, having also netted twice in England's 5-0 World Cup qualifying win over Latvia last month. But all good things must come to an end.
Bayern maintained their perfect start to the 2025-26 with a comfortable 3-0 win at Gladbach, but it was Joshua Kimmich, Raphael Guerreiro and teenage sensation Lennart Karl who provided the goals, not Kane. It was a frustrating afternoon for the 32-year-old, who found little joy against Gladbach's low block after the hosts were reduced to 10 men just 17 minutes into the contest.
Kane thought he'd broken the deadlock just after the hour mark, only to be denied by the offside flag. Fortunately, Kimmich then popped up moments later to set Bayern on their way to a 13th consecutive victory, equalling AC Milan's 33-year-old record for the most competitive wins by a team in Europe's top-five leagues to start a season.
Last season, Bayern's glaring flaws as a collective were exposed whenever Kane had an off-day, but they looked far more well-rounded now. Vincent Kompany has created a team that should win the Bundesliga title again at a canter and push far harder for the Champions League trophy. The goals will flow for Kane again soon enough; what's more important is that he is no longer shouldering the team's hopes by himself.
Greenwood scores beauty but Marseille found out
Mason Greenwood and Marseille were on cloud nine after routing Le Havre to go top of Ligue 1 last week. The Manchester United academy graduate hit four goals in a thumping 6-2 win that sent a strong message to reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, who surprisingly dropped points at home to Strasbourg, but Roberto De Zerbi refused to get carried away with talk of a potential tilt at the title, saying: "Today is only October 18, not May 18, so today, first place counts for nothing."
The Marseille boss was right to be apprehensive. A visit to Sporting CP in the Champions League three days later brought OM crashing back down to earth, as they fell to a 2-1 defeat after losing Emerson Palmieri to a red card right on the half-time whistle.
Preparations then began for Saturday's trip to fourth-placed Lens, which proved to be another banana skin. Marseille made the best possible start to the game, though, with Greenwood producing a lovely first-time finish from the edge of the box in the 17th minute for his eighth goal of the season.
Confidence should have been surging through the squad again, but instead, they imploded. Benjamin Pavard gave away a needless penalty six minutes later, which Odsonne Edouard gratefully converted, and the former Bayern defender then scored a horror own goal early in the second half that ended up sealing all three points for Lens.
Marseille have a formidable forward line, led by the likes of Greenwood and summer signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Igor Paixao, but De Zerbi's side won't be proper trophy contenders until they fix the defence. The centre-back partnership of Pavard and Nayef Aguerd certainly didn't work against Lens, and West Ham and Chelsea flop Emerson has always been a liability at full-back.
PSG moved back into first by breezing past Brest on the same day, and that's where they'll be again on May 18. The brutal reality is that Luis Enrique's side are still miles ahead of their Classique foes.
