GOAL runs through the best and worst of British players plying their trade on foreign soil as seasons around Europe got under way
Now more than ever, British players are finding that the grass can be greener elsewhere. The lure of the Premier League remains grand, but it's not the be-all and end-all.
In fact, some of the home nations' biggest stars have decided to take their talents abroad to the mainland continent and beyond. England's captain is in the Bundesliga, two of their other best players are at Santiago Bernabeu, and there's now even one at the rebuilt Camp Nou.
European football is starting back up again for 2025-26, and this season, GOAL will be breaking down the winners and losers each week from the Britons who are making a living away from home. Here's our roundup for what was matchday one for most of Europe…
Getty Images SportWINNER: Harry Kane
This is becoming quite the occurrence, isn't it, Harry? Kane went his whole career without ever winning a team trophy, yet within the space of a few months, he now has two.
Bayern Munich ended 2024-25 as the champions of Germany once again, with Kane at last getting his hands on some silverware worthy of matching his undoubted talent and legacy. Conquering the Bundesliga allowed the Bavarians back into the curtain-raising German Super Cup, where they faced DFB-Pokal winners Stuttgart away from home. Kane scored an exquisite opener, cutting out a loose clearance from centre-back Luca Jaquez and hitting a fierce first-time half-volley beyond goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow.
"I made a run and as the ball was in the air, I kind of knew I wasn't going to get there," Kane said of his goal. "I gambled that the defender was going to stick a toe out and that's what happened, and from there it's just about what I've done forever, getting contact on the ball and keeping it low. It was nice to see it go in."
Bayern would go on to prevail 2-1, with debutant Luis Diaz striking before Jamie Leweling pulled one back in the dying seconds, and at the full-time whistle, Kane was confirmed as a two-time trophy winner.
"Here we are, first one of the season," he said post-match in celebration. "Oh, it feels good. It feels good. You know, not easy away from home but credit to the boys, we stepped up and we go again, we look forward to the next one.
"This is how we wanted to start the season, with a good feeling and a title. It was a short summer break during which we worked hard. But the way we played today was good. It would have been nice if we had scored one or two more goals. But we moved the ball well and worked hard defensively as a whole team."
This was the first time that €175m duo Kane and Diaz had played together competitively, and the ex-Liverpool winger was full of praise for his new team-mate: "It's special to play with Harry Kane, he's a phenomenon. It's really easy to play alongside him as he has so much quality; it's a privilege."
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: Marcus Rashford
As the old cliche goes, Marcus Rashford will probably be happy that his Barcelona debut ended with his new side getting the three points – and that the club even managed to register him in time to play – but the context of that win and his own performance cannot be ignored.
Barca's 3-0 win away at a combative Mallorca should be reason for positivity, yet it was a game marred by controversy and a win lacking in effort. Raphinha's opener from a phenomenal Lamine Yamal delivery was all fine and dandy, but Ferran Torres made it 2-0 with an opposition player down nursing a head injury, and that's where tempers began to boil.
Manu Morlanes was shown a second yellow card on 33 minutes, and Vedat Muriqi also received his marching orders for an absurdly high kick to the face of goalkeeper Joan Garcia moments later. Yamal, of course, wrapped up the points in the 94th minute with a goal reminiscent of the 209 scored by Arjen Robben in his playing days.
Rashford, for his part, replaced Torres with around 20 minutes left, yet found himself perennially isolated and didn't even get a shot away during that time on the pitch, despite Mallorca hanging on with two fewer players. He was far from the only player not pulling his weight though, and Hansi Flick was not a happy man in his post-match press conference.
"I didn't like the match," the Barca boss said. "These are three important points, but after going 2-0 up, and with the two red cards, I think my team played at 50 per cent. That can't happen. I need to talk to the players about this. You can't play at 50% against nine players, that's not what I expect."
Nevertheless, Barca sit top of La Liga at this point, with Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold's Real Madrid getting their campaign underway on Tuesday at home to Osasuna.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Marseille's English contingent
There's been a fair bit of hype surrounding Marseille heading into Roberto De Zerbi's second season in charge at Stade Velodrome, with OM aiming to build on a second-place finish in Ligue 1 that secured a return to the Champions League. Opening night turned into a box-office disaster, however.
Marseille took part in French football's season-opener away at Rennes, where the hosts were forced to play two-thirds of the match with 10 men after Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal received a red card in the first half. A visiting team consisting of English quarter CJ Egan-Riley, Angel Gomes, Jonathan Rowe and Mason Greenwood couldn't pick the lock, and in the 91st minute, Rennes scored against the run of play through Ludovic Blas to consign Marseille to defeat.
De Zerbi, a fiery character even on his best days, was not pleased. "The others beat us on the pitch, and we come in here and fight among ourselves," he reportedly told a despondent dressing room. "You know what that means? That we have small balls. In Marseille, we need to have big ones."
Rowe, in particular, was said to have been criticised during the team debrief, with claiming he felt unfairly targeted, particularly as he has been heavily linked with an exit before the transfer window shuts. Though Rowe was derided for his display, debutant Egan-Riley, who joined on a free transfer from Burnley this summer, impressed.
Local newspaper wrote: "Thrust into the starting line up in the absence of the suspended Facundo Medina, the young Englishman, solid in duels, made a successful debut for OM this Friday evening. The only satisfaction of an evening in which Les Marseillais were beaten 11 against 10. He will undoubtedly retain a bitter taste from his baptism in sky and white. Yet, Egan-Riley had done (almost) everything right to forge a pleasant and sweet memory of it."
Getty ImagesWINNER: Eric Dier
Marseille may not have started the Ligue 1 season on the right foot, but their rivals Monaco certainly did, brushing aside Le Havre 3-1 at the Stade Louis II. Remarkably, they only had two shots on target, with an own goal from Gautier Lloris breaking the deadlock, and it wasn't until new boy Eric Dier rose highest to meet a delicious Lamine Camara corner with his head on the hour mark that they got up and running in that department.
"I just attacked the area where I was supposed to be and Lamine delivered a nice cross," Dier said after the game. "We executed that move the way we wanted. I'm happy to have been able to score that second goal in that game."
That move was orchestrated by Monaco's set-piece coach, according to manager Adi Hutter, who is hoping Dier will be the beneficiary of further such moves: "Eric scored his first goal, showing that he's a real threat in the opposition’s box. I'd also like to congratulate Abel Lorincz, our new set-piece specialist, who was rewarded in his first match with a goal from a corner."
Dier, who spent the bulk of his career in and out of the starting line up at Tottenham, is enjoying a late-bloom twilight to his playing days. He's just come off the back of a fruitful 18-month spell at Bayern with close friend Kane, and is now living it up in Monaco with supposed ambitions of returning to Lisbon with Sporting CP before hanging up his boots. It's alright for some, eh?