Which Players Have Scored in Each of Europe’s Top Five Leagues?
Only a couple of players in football history have managed to score in each of Europe’s top five leagues — but which men have belong in this special group? We’re taking a look:
Although the Portuguese and Dutch leagues have certainly done their share to close the gap in recent years, Europe’s top five leagues has typically referred to England (Premier League), Spain (LaLiga), Germany (Bundesliga), Italy (Serie A) and France (Ligue 1). So, which players have been able to score in each of UEFA’s main five domestic leagues?
Romanian striker Florin Răducioiu became the first player to achieve this lofty feat at the turn of the millennium. After leaving his motherland in 1990 and bouncing around smaller Italian sides like Bari, Hellas Verona and Brescia, Răducioiu went to AC Milan. Although playing time was in short supply, he still managed to win a Scudetto and a Champions League title with the Rossoneri before taking his talents to Espanyol.
Following two years in Spain, Răducioiu enjoyed brief loan spells with West Ham and Stuttgart before heading back to Brescia in 1998. After a fleeting moment with Romanian side Dinamo București, he made the move to Monaco in 2001 where he became the first player in football history to play (and eventually score) in each of top five leagues, before finally retiring in 2004 after a short spell with modest French side US Créteil-Lusitanos.
Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen would follow in his footsteps by plying his trade at Schalke, Sevilla, Juventus, Liverpool and Evian, but he didn’t quite manage to replicate Răducioiu’s achievement of scoring in each of top five leagues. Instead, it would be Stevan Jovetić who became the second player to pull off this stunning accomplishment.
He got his first big break with Serbian giants Partizan before soon heading to Fiorentina as a teenager, where he scored 40 times in 134 matches to earn a €26.7 million transfer to Manchester City. Jovetić won the Premier League and the League Cup in his first season before being shipped off to Inter Milan. A brief loan spell at Sevilla would follow before Jovetić took his talents to AS Monaco in 2017. He’s still going strong at 35, winning the Europa Conference League with Olympiakos last season and continuing to stake his claim as Montenegro’s captain and all-time leading scorer.
Justin Kluivert became the fourth player to participate in each of Europe’s top five leagues when he made his Premier League debut for Bournemouth. The Dutch forward began his development at Ajax before moving to Roma for €18.75 million in 2018, and after just two years in the Italian capital, he would spend the next three years plying his trade on loan at RB Leipzig, Nice and Valencia.
He made the move to the South Coast of England in 2023 and quickly emerged as a key figure under Andoni Iraola, becoming the first player in the history of the sport to score in the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie. And at 25 years old, he’s only just getting started in his development.
“Kluivert is finally getting some stability and looking more and more like the player that his potential promised he would become,” said Astorre Cerebróne in an RG interview. “He’s very fast and direct – all his actions are geared towards taking himself to goal – and he uses his speed well and combines well with his teammates. On his day, he’s a fine dribbler who is always willing to carry the ball forward and run at players.”
Whilst Justin may never reach the lofty heights of his legendary father Patrick, he nevertheless has two records that his dad will never touch: the first player to score in the Dutch, Spanish, English, German, Italian and French top-flights, and the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a Premier League match.
By: Zach Lowy / @ZachLowy
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / DeFodi Images / Neal Simpson – EMPICS / PA Images