- by croatiaweek
- May 13, 2026
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Mateo Kovačić (Photo credit: pantkiewicz/(CC BY-NC 2.0)
A new report by the CIES Football Observatory has ranked Croatia among the world’s leading exporters of football talent, with 401 Croatian players currently playing abroad across professional leagues worldwide.
The study analysed expatriate footballers competing in 135 professional leagues around the globe. Croatia placed 11th overall, recording an increase of 35 players abroad compared to last year.
Brazil remains the world’s leading exporter of footballers, with 1,455 players competing overseas, an increase of 37 from the previous year.
France followed closely in second place with 1,275 expatriate players, marking a significant rise of 86.
Reigning world champions Argentina ranked third with 1,016 players abroad, ahead of England in fourth and Spain in fifth place.
Nigeria finished sixth, followed by Germany, Colombia, Portugal and the Netherlands, which completed the top ten.
According to the report, France has recorded the largest increase in absolute terms since 2021, adding 332 expatriate players over the past five years. The country has seen a steady growth of 35 percent during that period.
Among the top ten exporting nations, Portugal and Spain experienced some of the strongest rises in relative terms. Portugal increased its number of players abroad by 66 percent, while Spain recorded a 60 percent rise. Nigeria also saw a 60 percent increase in expatriate footballers since 2021.
The report highlighted the continued growth of international player movement in football, noting that only nine of the top 50 exporting countries recorded a decline in the number of players abroad over the same period.
Serbia experienced the sharpest drop, with 53 fewer expatriate players than in 2021, representing a decline of 12 percent.
CIES Football Observatory