David Beckham, Harry Kane, Gareth Bale: Ranking the best British exports this century

ByAlex Bysouth

BBC Sport senior journalist

Gazza's baggy Roman shellsuit, John Charles plundering black-and-white goals in Turin, King Kev's floodlit perm dazzling Volksparkstadion terraces, Glenn Hoddle's minuscule Monegasque shorts.

They were all trailblazers and trendsetters, their tales relayed through continental dispatches and espresso-fuelled Saturday morning showreels.

Yet what was once an exotic European escapade for Britain's star footballers is now a well-trodden pilgrimage, as an increasing number of players eye opportunities further afield.

Eight of England's most recent World Cup squad are currently playing abroad - from Munich to Madrid, and Milan to the Middle East - while Scotland have even more overseas, predominantly in Serie A.

So while we acknowledge and applaud the groundwork put in by those early jetsetters, this week we're looking at the best British exports since the turn of the century.

I've ranked my top 10 below - you can have you say in the comments, too.

10. Kieran Trippier - Atletico Madrid

Kieran Trippier was seemingly deemed surplus to requirements at Tottenham after the north London outfit's Champions League final defeat by Liverpool in 2019, but the defender managed to renew his career under Diego Simeone in Spain.

The right-back became Atletico Madrid's first English player in almost a century, and then helped Los Rojiblancos win only their second La Liga title since the turn of the millennium, breaking the Barcelona and Real Madrid stranglehold.

It was the first trophy of his career, and Trippier returned to the Premier League after his Spanish sabbatical renewed, refreshed and ready to enjoy a successful spell at Newcastle.

9. Fikayo Tomori - AC Milan

John Charles, three-times winner; Jimmy Greaves, with Milan in 1961-62; and Gerry Hitchens, with Inter the following season, were the only British players to clinch a Scudetto before Juventus' Aaron Ramsey ended a wait that stretched back more than half a century in 2020.

Ramsey's Turin expedition, though, was inconsistent and expensive, and while Ashley Young then helped Inter win a first title in 11 years, his San Siro stay lasted only 18 months.

So the Scudetto winner we're plumping for here is Milan stalwart Fikayo Tomori.

The England defender lifted the prize in 2021-22, earning a spot in the Serie A team of the season on the way. And, despite ups and downs under various bosses since, the 28-year-old is now into his seventh season with the European giants. A quietly impressive feat.

8. Jadon Sancho - Borussia Dortmund

Jadon Sancho's career may not have continued on the trajectory many expected when he departed Germany in a £73m move for Old Trafford, four years after initially leaving Manchester, but his time at Dortmund was an undoubted success.

It was brave, as a 17-year-old, to reject Manchester City and move to a new country, but the young winger was vindicated with rapid progress at Dortmund.

In his second season, Sancho scored 12 goals and added 18 assists in 34 Bundesliga games, the following term he netted 17 times.

In fact, by the time Sancho left Dortmund aged 21 he'd scored 50 goals and made 64 assists across 137 games in all competitions, winning a German Cup and finishing runner-up in both the European Golden Boy prize and the Kopa Trophy for the world's best young player.

More than that, he helped establish a pathway for young British prospects to grow and develop abroad that many have followed since.

7. David Beckham - Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, AC Milan & PSG

It was tempting to include Bradley Wright-Philips, a man who followed a half-season stint at League One Brentford with a move to New York Red Bulls, winning a pair of Golden Boots, three Supporters' Shields and netting more than 100 goals during his time in the Big Apple.

But if we're talking Major League Soccer impact then there's only one winner. David Beckham swapped the Galactico comforts of Real Madrid, where he spent four seasons and collected a sole La Liga crown, for a Hollywood welcome at LA Galaxy.

Beckham's presence was at times questioned, especially when spending loan spells in Milan, but the England captain and global superstar brought a huge amount of eyeballs and allure to the American game. He left with silverware, too, twice winning both the MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield.

There was room for a five-month stay in Paris before the midfielder hung up his iconic Preds, winning Ligue 1 and waving an emotional goodbye in 2013.

6. Scott McTominay - Napoli

Maybe it's the tomatoes. Scott McTominay wouldn't touch one back in Manchester, but since moving to southern Italy he boasts the glow of a man loving both the local Neapolitan cuisine and his football.

The Lancaster-born Scot has undergone a slick transformation. Few would have expected him to veer from United squad player to cult hero mentioned in the same breath as Napoli's greatest adopted son, Diego Maradona.

But McTominay, with a little help from compatriot Billy Gilmour, has thrived in the football-obsessed maze that is Naples, firing the club to only a fourth Scudetto in history with 12 goals from midfield during his debut Serie A season.

It landed him the league's MVP award.

Finishing runners-up last term, McTominay has already etched his name in Napoli folklore, with more goals - and tomatoes - likely to follow.

5. Owen Hargreaves - Bayern Munich

Owen Hargreaves is something of an anomaly. You could argue he shouldn't count as an export given he was born and raised in Canada, before moving to Bayern Munich aged 16.

Indeed, he's the only player to represent England without having previously lived there. But winning 42 Three Lions caps legitimises his inclusion.

Born in Calgary, having also represented Wales at youth level, Hargreaves cleaned up on the silverware front during his seven seasons in Munich - winning four Bundesliga titles and several German Cups.

Yet his most impressive achievement came in Europe.

Then a 20-year-old, yet to be capped by England, he played 120 minutes in central midfield alongside captain Stefan Effenberg as Bayern beat Valencia on penalties at San Siro in 2001.

Several British players previously lost European Cup finals for foreign clubs - Kevin Keegan with Hamburg, Laurie Cunningham at Real Madrid, Steve Archibald with Barcelona and Chris Waddle at Marseille.

But Hargreaves became only the third to win it - and only two have done so since. Dortmund's Paul Lambert in 1997 was the first, we'll get to the others in a moment.

4. Jude Bellingham - Borussia Dortmund & Real Madrid

Well done for those of you who guessed. Yes, Jude Bellingham has joined the list of British players to win the Champions League for a foreign club.

Bellingham, a teen sensation at Birmingham, followed Sancho's playbook by first moving to Dortmund, where he blossomed into one of the most sought-after midfielders in Europe.

Bellingham became Dortmund's youngest ever goalscorer and also the youngest English player to start a Champions League match. Three productive seasons in Germany was enough evidence for Real Madrid to agree a deal worth more than £100m for him.

He hit the ground running, scoring 23 goals in all competitions as Madrid won both La Liga and the Champions League, and finished third in that year's Ballon d'Or.

3. Harry Kane - Bayern Munich

It was a tight call between Bellingham and Harry Kane. The midfielder boasts the accolade of becoming European champion, after all, but Kane's individual form at Bayern Munich is simply staggering and nudges him into third spot.

To date, Kane has scored 101 Bundesliga goals in 98 games - that figure stands as 152 goals in 154 games overall for Bayern Munich.

The Three Lions captain has shattered all kinds of records in Bavaria. He won the European Golden Shoe in his debut season, the first Englishman since Kevin Phillips to take that award, and is the fastest player in Bundesliga history to hit a century of goals.

Oh, and Kane finally won the team silverware he craved for so long, too. He now has two Bundesliga titles and a German Cup to his name, though the Champions League - and potentially a Ballon d'Or - remain the ultimate target.

2. Steve McManaman - Real Madrid

Was Steve McManaman underappreciated? He perhaps didn't earn the number of England caps his talent deserved. In fact, the last of those 37 Three Lions outings came before he won a second Champions League with Real Madrid, despite pleas from club team-mates such as Zinedine Zidane that he should be given a recall.

The marauding winger's move to Madrid in the summer of 1999 was unique - he was the first English player since Laurie Cunningham in 1982 to feature for Los Merengues and the first to move to the Bernabeu directly from the Premier League.

It came at a time when Spanish football was harder to consume for UK audiences, before the peak Revista de la Liga era, making McManaman, renowned for his dribbling and creativity, something of an enigma.

But the Bootle-born player enjoyed an impressive four-season stint in Spain, scoring a volley against Valencia in the Champions League final win of 2000 and coming off the bench to collect another winner's medal two years later, adding to two La Liga successes.

1. Gareth Bale - Real Madrid & LAFC

There is, however, one clear leader when it comes to the best British exports since the turn of the century - and potentially of all time.

Gareth Bale, the Welsh marvel, has more Champions League winner's medals than the rest of this list combined. He has five of them, in fact, which came across a nine-year spell when Real Madrid dominated Europe's showpiece competition.

Bale's commitment to Los Blancos' cause was sometimes questioned - he once held up a flag that claimed Wales, and golf, were his priorities - but his return was still impressive and he insisted he always gave his all for Real.

The flying forward scored 106 goals in 258 games, with three of those coming in Champions League finals, including an outrageous overhead kick in 2018.

His short stint before retirement in Los Angeles was less memorable, but still yielded a Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup triumph, where he scored a last-gasp leveller before LAFC won on penalties.